Dreamer
by strongwolf4
Summary: Arthur Kirkland dreams of leaving the terrible orphanage where he and his friends are tortured every day by bullies, and served soft slop. His dreams come true one day when he finally escapes with his friends. But where will they go? Who will they meet? Please read! XD Contains kid countries and their real names. Also, maybe some SuFin in there XD
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Arthur stared out the window. It was cold that night, every sign of winter around. He wrapped himself in his black cloak. He never really liked the cold, though he was used to it, coming from a country with so much rain. He quietly watched the people below him, walking with their loved ones, or alone, but even if they were alone, they still looked happy. Arthur sighed. Why couldn't he have that? His family gave him up for some reason. But why? He looked down again, and saw a child walking with his mother and father, laughing happily. Why couldn't he have that?

"Arthur, you comin' to bed dude?" A small voice called for him. He looked down to see his friend Alfred staring at him, sleep in his gaze. He sighed. "Yeah I'm coming." He answered softly. He quickly hopped down from the window to the bed he shared with Alfred. He wished he had his own bed. The orphanage was so small. Why couldn't he live in a big house, with plenty of room? And his own _bed_. The thought made him tremble. He shook his head, trying to focus on where he was right now. He lay down in bed, Alfred following close behind. That night, they both dreamt of similar things. Parents, real food, and parents. Parents….that's all they really wanted.

….

"Wake up!" Alfred's loud yowl awoke Arthur. He sighed in annoyance, though he really should be used to it by now. After all, he did it every morning. "Give me a few more minutes, ok?" he sighed pulling the blankets back over his head. Alfred's smile fell away. "No, you have to come! If you don't come you'll miss….what we assume every day to be breakfast…." Arthur's stomach clenched to the thought of the shit they fed them. Slop. It looked like cat food. And it tasted what he assumed dog food tasted like.

"I don't want to eat that shit today," he growled. "I'm not hungry anyway," he lied. He was actually really hungry. He didn't eat (what they all assumed to be) dinner last night, or breakfast yesterday morning. He couldn't take the taste of that stuff anymore!

He sighed as he heard Alfred's stomach growl. "Please! Come with me! Matthew's already up!"

Arthur thought to their Canadian friend. He really couldn't defend himself, so he guessed he needed to be there for him. He sighed. "Alright let's go."

They sat down at the table, staring at their soft slop. Arthur swore he saw it bubble. _Gross,_ he thought,_ just gross..._

"Hey! Good morning eh?" he heard Matthew's quiet voice beside him. Arthur looked up in surprise. He never really noticed him, even when he sat next to him. He was also always clutching his soft teddy polar bear too. He said his parents left it with him when.. they gave him up. "Hey there. Not gonna touch your slop either, huh?" he smiled.

The small Canadian shook his head. "Nope. It's gross."

_You speak the truth,_ Arthur thought,_ you speak the truth._

He got distracted when he heard a loud growl next to him. "I don't want to eat it but I'm starving!" Alfred whined holding his stomach. Arthur sighed. He too was hungry, but didn't dare touch it. Also, he had to watch out for his big brother.

"Hey have- have you seen Scott today?" he stammered to Matthew. Matthew jumped to the name, but shook his head. "No thank god." He replied. Arthur had been dropped off at the orphanage with his Scottish older brother, Scott. He bullied him, and tormented almost everyone in the orphanage. Even the regular bullies…..

"And- and we've been clear of…of…the usual trio?"

"As far as I know, I haven't seen those three bullies yet." Matthew answered. Arthur was sure he'd hear a scream from someone being bullied by the trio of friends. They also tormented most of the children at the orphanage.

"AI-YA!"

_There_ it was. The scream that usually sounded up the room in the morning. Arthur, along with a few other children, turned around to see their good friend Yao, bursting through the doors, tears streaming from his eyes. "Help me, aru!" he screeched running to Arthur. Arthur flinched, "D-don't run behind me! They'll come after me too!"

But he was too late. Suddenly, a loud burst of laughter came from outside the room, and the door flung open. Three children walked through, the one in the middle laughing, the one on the right smirking, and the one on the left smirking as well. Arthur shivered, but heard Yao squeak in terror behind his back. The child in the middle walked right up to him and glared at him, smirking, making Arthur feel scared, and awkward. The child staring up at him gave his usual laugh.

"Kesesesese! Hey, English boy! I've yet to pick on you today, but first, please move aside so I can finish beating the Asian kid behind you!" his gaze fell to Yao, who shivered behind Arthur's back. _Beating?_ Arthur turned to his Asian friend. Sure enough, his friend's cheek was bleeding, and his tears were obvious. Arthur glared at the Prussian boy.

"You _dare_ hurt him?" he snarled. "Have you no dignity?"

"Eh, I hurt a lot of people!" the boy laughed. Arthur snarled. He can certainly use a lecture from his brother, Ludwig. His brother was so much more serious then him, and he actually acted nice sometimes. Arthur couldn't believe he was the younger brother. The Prussian boy continued:

"Kesesese! Francis, Antonio, should we hit him a bit?" he turned to his French and Spanish friend. Francis smirked. "Wi. Allow me to take the one with the eyebrows." He cracked his knuckles. Arthur looked away, blushing with embarrassment. He didn't let them grow out cause then they'd be too thick! He learned to shave them on his own.

"Gilbert, I'll finish with the Asian boy," the Spaniard smirked. Arthur felt Yao tremble behind him. Arthur got ready to defend him, but he was interrupted.

"Now look here!" Alfred stepped in front of him. "There's no need for this! Can't you just go away? Don't you know no one _likes_ you for this?"

He was brave. Gilbert laughed. "HAH! Your brave, you are, to talk to me like that. However," he paused to crack his knuckles, "I don't take insults lightly. And you will play for that." He stepped closer to Alfred, pulling his fist back.

"Let me through! Go on, GET!" a loud, scary voice sounded from beyond the doors. Gilbert paused. Arthur shivered when he realized who the voice was. Gilbert turned to the doors, his red eyes widened. "It's Scott!" he yelled. "Scram!"

He and his friends vanished in an instant, and Arthur and his friends got ready to do the same. But again, they were too late. Scott already flung the doors open, stomping towards him. Scott was taller, and older then him, and his punch was a force to be reckoned with. He stopped in front of Arthur, his hands bunched into fists. "_Move."_

Immediately, he turned and moved out of the way, Matthew, Yao, and Alfred close behind him. His older brother sat down, and, actually began to eat that slop._ How can he eat that?_ He wondered. As if he knew what he was thinking, Scott turned and glared at him. "In here, it's either eat, or starve to death." He mumbled through his mouth full of the slop. He was right. You eat or die. In Arthur's case, he didn't know what to do. He turned and began to walk towards the doors. He didn't want to take any more of this crap.

Behind him, his friends were at his heels, and they escaped to their room.

"Ai-ya," Yao moaned, his stomach growling loudly. 'I didn't get to eat~ aru."

"I didn't either," Arthur groaned, holding his stomach. Not that he wanted to eat it anyway. He turned to Alfred, who's usual smiling face revealed a frown. "I ate some, but it wasn't enough to fill me up." He sighed. Matthew looked away. "Me too." He sighed.

Arthur looked at his friends. What were they doing here? Couldn't they escape? Arthur paused. That's it! They could _escape!_ "Hey, I have an idea!" he cheered loudly.

Yao looked up at him. "What, aru?"

"We could escape!"

They all looked at him, wide eyed. "Are you crazy?!" Alfred yowled. "They'd find us, and kill us!"

"I agree, it sounds dangerous~ aru."

"Yeah, I wouldn't go along with it, eh?"

Arthur sighed. Maybe they needed to think about it a little more.

"Ve~ Go along with what?" The small voice of Feliciano startled them. The child was hanging on the side of their bed, his feet dangling in the air as he tried to get up onto the bed. Arthur froze. "You-You heard us?" he stammered nervously. He didn't want him to tell anyone. Feliciano isn't very good at keeping secrets, especially when they were important. Feliciano smiled. "Ve~! I won't tell anyone! I promise!" he said happily. Arthur sighed. Feliciano was also bullied by Scott, along with Feliks, Kaoru, and a few others. "Feliciano, you really must _not_ repeat what you heard today. You understand?" Arthur warned. The small Italian smiled. "Ok! I won't tell, I promise!" _I hope he keeps that promise,_ Arthur thought, worried.

"Um, excuse me?" A soft voice interrupted them. A small child on the other side of the bed, was also climbing on the side of the bed, his feet dangling as he tried to get up. "I'm sorry to bother you, but, I have a message from Scott for you, Asa." He said softly with his Japanese accent rolling. Arthur turned to him nervously. "What is it, Kiku?" he asked nervously. Kiku pulled himself onto the bed, huffing from his climbing. "I shall repeat the message:

Brother, come down here and meet with me. We have something very important to talk about. You better come down here, or I swear I'rr kirr you.

That is where the message ends." He ended with a bow. His accent really rolled in that sentence. Arthur gulped. What does Scott want with him? He usually beat him up whenever he saw him, so this couldn't mean anything good. He shivered as he climbed down the bed to the floor, making his way to the stairs.

"Arthur, your not actually going are you?!" Alfred's worried cry made Arthur stop. He shook his small tears away. "I have too," he murmured, "Don't worry, I'll be back."

He turned and walked away nervously to the stairs.

**Author's note!**

**I hope you all liked this fanfiction. Please leave a review. Oh! And here's a note:**

**I know Scotland is yet to be shown in Hetalia, but I thought I'd put him in. Also, I don't think he has a human surname, so I just put Scott down as it. Seemed obvious XD**

**Also, Asa is Arthur in Japanese. Anyway, please leave a review! XD**

**Tails**


	2. Escape

Chapter 2

Worried, he continued walking. He couldn't shake the thought away. What was Scott gonna do to him? Was he gonna beat him up again? Arthur shivered.

He walked by another bedroom, (out of the many there were) and there he saw Gilbert, beating up Rodrich like usual. For some reason, he hated Rodrich. Arthur growled and was about to step in and help him, but Elizabeth beet him to it. She was the only one who wasn't scared to hit him, and Arthur watched her punch him violently. _That's what he gets,_ he thought.

Gilbert and his friends were actually scared of her. Word spread around she had a crush on Rodrich, and Rodrich had a crush on her, even though he kinda picked on Feliciano. And Elizabeth considered Feliciano a friend. Arthur pressed onward, making sure he was out of sight of Francis and Antonio.

He made his way downstairs. He trembled nervously when he got to the back room. There, stood Scott. He was tapping his foot impatiently, waiting for him. Arthur gulped and walked forward. "S-Scott?" he stammered. Scott turned around, his eyes locked with Arthur's.

"Ah, Arthur," he snarled, "Please come over here."

Arthur didn't want to. In fact, he almost ran out of the room screaming. But then if he did that, Scott would kill him for sure. He slowly walked over to him. He stopped in front of him, his green eyes wide with fear. "Y-Yes?" he stammered.

Surprisingly, Scott smiled. "Guess what? I'm gettin' the hell outta here."

"Huh?"

"I'm escaping! I'm going to escape tonight! I'll be out of here, and I'll have real food, and who knows! Maybe I'll find a family to take me in!" he cheered softly. Arthur didn't know how to feel. Jealous? Annoyed? He didn't know…..

"Um, we're brothers you know?"

"And?"

"Well, aren't you gonna take me with you?"

Scott laughed so hard Arthur thought he would bring everyone down here. He literally fell over holding his stomach, laughing as loud as he can. He stood up, calming himself down.

"No."

"What?! But why?" Arthur cried. He wanted to leave too! Arthur couldn't believe he was doing this. He was going to _leave_ him here. To suffer. How selfish!

"Heh, don't worry little bro. I'm sure someone will come and adopt you….eventually." he ended with a laugh. He walked towards the basement door, staring at it gracefully. What was he thinking? _That must be his escape route,_ Arthur thought. There was a door that lead to the outside from the basement, though no one_ dared_ go through it. They weren't aloud outside. The people of the orphanage felt some would try to run away.

"I'll think of you little bro, as I'm, you know, escaping." He smirked. He was taunting him! At that moment Arthur couldn't stand it any longer. Without thinking, Arthur pushed his brother into the door, and his brother slammed against it, hitting his head.

"AHH!" He screamed. He was rolling around on the floor holding his head. Arthur shivered. _Oh my god. What have I done?_

Scott shivered as he tried standing up, and once he got up, he looked at Arthur, fury blazing in his eyes. Arthur shuddered as Scott reeled back his fist, ready to punch.

"STOP!"

Footsteps came from the stairs and Arthur froze when Alfred and Matthew came to his rescue. "Stop now!" Alfred screamed. He and Scott stared at each other, their eyes locked as enemies.

"MAKE ME." He snarled rearing his fist back again. Alfred, having superhuman strength, headbutted Scott in the stomach, sending him into the door again. This time Scott did not get up. In fact, he down right fainted. Now they were dead. If some one who runs the orphanage sees him like this, their toast.

"Alfred, why?!" Arthur yelled. He was thankful that he saved him, as he usually does, but this time he went too far. Alfred looked away, blushing slightly. "I-I'm sorry.." he stammered softly. "I didn't think he'd faint. I just thought he'd cry like he usually does."

Arthur sighed as he saw tears of embarrassment escape his friend's eyes.

"It's ok. You were just trying to protect me," he grabbed his friend's hands. Alfred sniffed. "O-okay."

Arthur smiled. Then he looked at Scott's fainted body. "He told me he was going to escape tonight."

"WHAT?"

"Eh?!"

"Yep. He said he was leaving tonight, and wasn't going to take me." He sighed. "Now, we're in trouble.

He was indeed right. A person who runs the orphanage found out, and banned them from dinner that night, (which actually wasn't too bad). They stayed in their room that night, and thought of what other punishment could be coming their way. Arthur looked out the window again. He saw stars. Beautiful stars. He wanted to run up and touch them, but unfortunately, that's impossible. He looked down at the bed. Maybe he was meant to stay here, forever.

"Let's do it."

Alfred's voice made both him and Matthew look up. "Huh?"

"Let's escape." Alfred continued. Arthur smiled while Matthew gave a nervous shake.

"That's insane!" he quietly yelled. "You said so yourself!"

"Yeah, but when Scott wakes up in the morning, he's gonna kill us. Also, think of what other punishment they'll put us through! And come on, aren't we all done being tormented by Scott, Gilbert and his friends?" he paused to take a breath, "Come on! We need to get out of here!"

Arthur smiled. "Yes! Yes we can do this! I'll make a rope from a lot of the blankets and we'll escape out the window! You agree?"

Alfred nodded while Matthew looked away nervously. "Uhhhh….."

"Oh Mattie, come on!" Alfred pushed him encouragingly. "We can get out of here! All three of us!" he bunched his hands into fists excitedly. Matthew sighed, realizing he lost this argument. "Fine," he smiled, "I'll come."

"Then it's settled." Arthur began. "We leave tonight."

….

That night, everyone slept. Arthur sat up slowly in bed, looking around to see if everyone was asleep. In one bed, he saw Yao sleeping with his brothers. Arthur frowned. He wanted to take them with them, but with so many people, their plan would fail. He looked to the other bed, revealing Feliciano and Lovino sleeping. They looked cute when they were asleep. Arthur looked to Alfred, and tried to wake him up. "Psst! Alfred, wake up!" he whispered nudging him. "Come on! We've got to escape!"

Alfred opened his eyes slowly. He looked at Arthur with a tired gaze in his eyes. "A-Artie? A-Already?" he moaned.

"_Yes_ already!" he hissed. "And be quiet! You could wake some one up!" he nodded towards Yao, who would definitely wake up if he heard something suspicious.

"Oh right! Sorry…." Alfred blushed. Arthur sighed and nudged Matthew.

"Mattie, come on! Let's go!"

Matthew slowly opened his eyes. He looked at them with his weary, tired gaze. "Already?" he asked tiredly. Arthur frowned. Yes they needed to leave now!

"Get ready," Arthur whispered. He ran to the window, and tied a long rope of blankets to their bed, letting the other side fall out the window, to the ground.

"Wait! Where's Kumajiro?" Mattie looked around, worried. Arthur sighed. _Now_ of _all_ times he loses that stuffed polar bear. Why?!

"I think he's under the bed." Mattie looked under the bed cautiously. He stepped back nervously. "Alfie, could you get him please?" he looked at Alfred with huge, begging eyes.

Alfred's eyes widened. "What? Me? But why?!"

"Please!"

"Fine," Alfred sighed. He scrambled under the bed in search of the stuffed bear, and eventually returned with it. He tried to get out from under the bed, but he couldn't.

"I'm stuck!"

Arthur ran over and, after a few minutes of pulling, pulled his friend out. Mattie hugged Kumajiro tightly, and Alfred panted. "I-I thought I was gonna die!" he cried.

"Oh stop overreacting." Arthur scolded. "Come on, let's go." He ran to the window, grabbing the rope of blankets. "Be careful." He warned them. Slowly, he climbed down the rope, not looking down. He was scared if he looked down, he'd fall. He just waited until his feet hit the ground. Sure enough, they did. He couldn't believe it. When was the last time he'd been outside? He let go of the blankets in awe, amazed at what he was looking at. _The outside! The outside!_

"Alfred, Matthew, come on!" he called to the window. He saw Alfred struggling on the rope, squealing nervously. Arthur's eyes widened. _No, don't fall!_

Alfred stopped struggling and, continued to climb down the rope. He eventually hit the ground, and ran to Arthur, hugging him. "That was scary!" he whined. Arthur sighed, but smiled. He was just happy his friend was alright. He looked up to the window, letting go of Alfred. "Mattie, let's go!"

Matthew slowly climbed down, Kumajiro clutched tightly in his arm. He landed softly, not making a sound. All three of them, looked around in excitement.

"W-we're outside! We're actually outside!" Matthew cheered. Arthur jumped to his cheering. He never heard Mattie this loud before. He turned to Alfred, who was staring at the buildings with big, blue eyes. "Amazing!" He cried. Arthur smiled with amusement as Alfred stood on his toes, trying to see if he can touch the top. Everything was going great. They just needed to get out of here.

"Come on. We've got to leave here, and fast." Arthur stated. The other two nodded in agreement, and Arthur made his best bet and ran left. What else could he do? He didn't know his way around! This was his first time outside in years! The other two followed, not knowing where they were going.

They ran for what seemed like forever until they reached a bridge over a river. The bridge was small, and there was some concrete under it. A good place to hide. They ran under the bridge and stopped once they were fully under it. They were panting from the running, and Alfred fell back sleepily. Arthur and Matthew Also set themselves down, getting ready to sleep on cold wet ground.

"Arthur, I'm hungry." Alfred complained.

"We'll get food tomorrow, I promise." He sighed.

They all fell asleep, hoping that tomorrow, they would know what to do.

**Author's note!**

**I'm sorry if it moves fast. I just wanted them to escape XD Don't worry, it gets even more intense from here. Honestly they figure out what to do XD**

**Please leave a review! Thanks! XD**

**Tails**


	3. The river

Chapter 3

Arthur woke up first the next morning. The sun was shining brightly through the clouds, which promised a good day. Arthur stood up, taking Alfred's head lightly of his stomach where it had been laying. He put his head lightly on the floor, and looked around. A huge river….where did it go? He had no idea what to do.

What were they thinking? They left the orphanage with no food, water, or any idea where they were going. Wait, maybe the water in the river was clean? Arthur took a step forward and looked in. He knew it was dirty water the minute he saw a starburst rapper.

"Hey Artie! Your up early." Alfred sounded behind him. Arthur turned and smiled.

"Yeah. Hey, I have a question. What are we doing?"

"Huh?"

"I mean, we escaped the orphanage with no food, water, or any idea where we're going! Are we crazy?!" Arthur sat on the floor looking into the river. This _was_ insane. Alfred took a step closer to him.

"No! It's ok! We're gonna make it out of here alive, don't worry!" Alfred smiled patting his back. Arthur smiled. His friend was always there to comfort him. Arthur thought for a moment. They needed to leave the area before people from the orphanage came to look for them. Arthur looked around.

"Hey, you guys are awake?" Mattie's small groan sounded behind them. They turned to see the tired Canadian standing behind them.

"Mattie! You're awake!" Alfred ran up to him and hugged him, making Matthew jump in surprise. Alfred let go and stared hopefully at Arthur. "So, can we get food?"

"I don't even think we can get water." Arthur nodded towards the river. The other two looked in and nearly barfed when they saw a hershey's rapper floating in it.

"Well, we're gonna starve." Alfred flopped onto his back.

"Oh, quit being so overdramatic!" Arthur scolded. "We'll be fine." He lied. Where were they gonna get food? And water?

Suddenly, footsteps sounded from behind him. They all whipped around to the stairs, where the footsteps were coming from. They were slow and soft, but noticeable.

"Oh god! They're coming for us!" Matthew cried as he ran behind Alfred's back. Alfred stepped in front of both of them. "I'll protect you guys!" he said bravely. Arthur shivered. Were the people from the orphanage really coming for them? Suddenly, a small shadow appeared from the stairs, and a small child appeared in front of them.

"Ve~! I knew I'd find you guys!"

"FELICIANO?!" they shouted in surprise. The small Italian jumped back, scared by their scream.

"Ve~! I'm sorry!" he began, "Don't hit me!"

"How did you find us?! More over, _why_ and did you follow us?!" Arthur shouted. The small Italian shivered on the floor, holding his head. "Ve~! It's just, well, I saw you guys leave last night, and you left the rope hanging, and, well, I wanted to escape too! So I did!"

"Without your brother?" Arthur pointed out. "Or your friend Ludwig?"

Feliciano looked up sadly. "They didn't want to come. They just, well, Ludwig wanted to keep and eye on his brother, and Lovino, for some reason, wanted to keep hanging out with Antonio! It made me really sad!"

Arthur felt bad for the Italian who began sobbing. He went over to him and placed his hands into his, helping him up.

"It's ok," Arthur smiled. "Sorry we yelled. Right guys?" he turned to his friends. They nodded. Arthur turned back to Feliciano and sighed. "Feli, I guess you can come with us. But behave ok?" _Because we know you would never survive on your own._

"Ve~! Thank you!"

"Are you sure this isn't too many people?" Alfred commented. "We don't want to get into any trouble…."

"I guess we'll be ok. I mean it's Feli, how much trouble can he get into-?" he stopped and thought for a moment. _Oh god. Feli….we're dead._ Feli was clumsy and a scaredy cat. Was bringing him along really a good idea?

Arthur sighed. Well, they couldn't leave him here. They had to take him with them.

"Ve~! I almost forgot! I brought friends!" Feliciano snapped him back to reality.

Arthur shivered. "_Friends?_" he questioned. Oh god, more of them? Did he _want_ them to get caught?!

"Ve~! You can come down guys!" Feliciano called up the stairs. Immediately footsteps sounded from the stairs, and the familiar face of Yao jumped in front of them.

"Hey! I can't believe you guys left without us~aru!" he smirked.

"Yao!" Arthur and his friend shared a hug. Arthur thought he would never see his friend again. They pulled apart and Arthur looked at the stairs. Two more children jumped down, making this reunion even better. "Kiku! Kaoru!" Arthur cheered. All their friends were here! "Wait a minute, when did you escape?"

Yao got ready to explain but Kaoru already beet him to it. "Well, about a half hour after you left, Feli woke us up, along with Lovino and Ludwig. Lovino and Ludwig immediately said they didn't want to come, but we agreed to take the risk. Good thing we all made it out alive before Lovi…." He paused for a moment in shock. "Oh my god Lovino is gonna tell on us."

"Oh, right." Feli sighed. "He does do that. They're gonna come looking for us and catch us! Veee!" Feli began to panic.

"Well, that's it." Matthew sighed. "All this for nothing."

"AHHHH I don't want to eat slop anymore! Don't let them take me back to the slop!" Alfred begged Arthur. Arthur just stood there. What was he supposed to do?!

"Um, excuse me?" Kiku pulled on Arthur's black cloak.

Arthur turned, his worried expression growing. "Yes Kiku?" he sighed.

"Um, rook over there." He pointed to where the concrete ended. "A raft."

Everyone stopped panicking and looked at the raft. It was big enough for all of them, and it wasn't even tied to anything! This was they're chance to escape!

"Come on," Arthur declared, "Get on the raft."

"Huh?" Alfred and everyone else turned to the raft. "But Arthur, I thought you couldn't swim."

"Shush, Alfred!" he didn't want anyone to know. He walked over to the raft and stepped on it, making sure it was stable. It was stable enough for him, but for six others? Would it hold? Arthur looked at the water and shivered. He did not want to drown. The water was dirty, and what if there were fish that bite in there? Although, he didn't think fish could survive in that water. However, they needed to take the chance.

"Come now, everyone step on." Arthur said. Everyone stepped on, shaking the raft a little. Sure enough, it held. The water rippled from the movement the raft created, and Arthur shivered. He really couldn't swim.

"So, how do we move~aru?" Yao questioned looking around. He was right. How did they move this thing?

"Maybe with those things?" Kiku suggested, pointing to two long ticks on the side of the raft. The sticks dipped into the water, and looked mobile. "I guess we can give it a try." Kaoru added.

"Yeah, what have we got to lose?" Matthew said reassuringly. _Drowning. We could drown_, Arthur thought.

"So who will row these things?" Alfred said, pulling on one of the ores.

"I will! I will!" Yao grabbed the two on the left. "Who will help me~aru?"

"I will." Kaoru offered. He swiftly grabbed the two on the right, and he and Yao began to push. "Ai-ya! It's hard!" Yao exclaimed. "Come on Kaoru, push!"

"I'm trying!" he complained. They gave one swift push, and, they were off. Sailing down the river, with absolutely no idea where they were going. Arthur looked into the river, staring at his own reflection. What awaited them? Out in this big wide world….

**Author's note!**

**I feel like there's a lot of dialogue in this chapter, but whatever it's fun when characters talk XD**

**Well, please leave a review! Thanks! XD**

**Tails**


	4. Land

Chapter 4

Arthur opened his eyes. "Ah!" he exclaimed, sitting up in the tiny raft. He looked around. Trees, bushes, small houses. Not to mention the river. Oh right. They were still on the river. Arthur must've fallen asleep, cause now the sun was going down, and when they took off on this raft, it was morning. He also noticed they were no longer around buildings. Did they end up in the suburbs? How far did this river go?

"Awake, ~aru?"

Arthur turned to Yao, who by now was panting from the rowing. Kaoru was also panting. He looked at the others. Apparently they had fallen asleep too.

"How about I row a little?" he offered. Yao gave him a big smile. "Yes, please! I'm so tired!" he jumped from his post and layed himself down beside Kiku, who was still asleep. Arthur's gaze fell to Kaoru, who looked like he was about to collapse any minute.

He looked at Alfred, who was sleeping away like the American he was.

"Alfred get up!" he yelled softly. "It's our turn to row."

"Huh? What? Food?" Alfred jumped up, his weary, tired gaze fell to the ores. He looked back to Arthur, not avoiding his narrowed eyes. "But I don't wanna," he complained, "I'm tired."

"Then this will wake you up." Arthur retorted. He picked his friend up by the hand and made him switch places with Kaoru, who plopped down next to Yao and drifted off into his turn of sleep. Arthur began to row, his hands already aching. My god, this was hard! How did Yao and Kaoru do it so easily? Alfred took the other side, and began to row easily.

Of course he had superhuman strength. They continued down the river for another hour, and the sun was already eaten up by the night sky. The moon showed brightly over their heads, and made the water sparkle. This area they were rowing through looked nice. A big forest, few houses, and….was that a bunny? Arthur thought he saw the tiny creature move away from the river into the tall grass. Arthur smiled.

How far away were they from the city? Had he slept _that_ long?

Alfred dropped the ores. "My arms hurt," he complained. "Can we take a break?"

Arthur wanted to retort, but he couldn't. He was right. Maybe it was time they land. But where? Suddenly, a surprisingly warm aroma came out of nowhere. Arthur sniffed the air, and it smelled good. He turned his head to a house at the land, where it seemed the aroma was coming from. He tried to hide his hungry gaze.

"Let's stop here!" Alfred jumped excitedly. The aroma of food had gotten to him. Of course now Arthur knew they had to stop here. If they didn't he knew Alfred would complain about it the rest of the way down the river. "Ok," he mumbled, "help me row it to the side." Easily, they moved it the side, and the thump awoke the others.

"Hm? Where are we~aru?" Yao mumbled sitting up. His eyes widened when he smelled the aroma of the food. "Dinner!" he exclaimed, making the others look up.

"We can't have it!" Arthur acknowledged them. "A family is eating it inside their house. What are you gonna do? Jump in and steal it?"

"I probabry can." Kiku remarked. Arthur shivered. "I was….I was just kidding around…." Arthur stammered. Kiku shrugged. "If you say so."

"Oh, it smells so good! I want it!" Alfred cried. Arthur jumped in front of all of them to control them. "We can't take it! That's final!"

Yao looked away sadly. "Aww, can we at least look at it, aru? I want to see what a real meal looks like!" he jumped to the thought of real food. Arthur kind of agreed with him. What did real food look like? "Ok fine," he grumbled, "We'll look, but that's it."

Immediately, the others ran past him to the window, staring hungrily at the meal. Their feet dangled from the high window, and Arthur climbed them to get to the window to see for himself.

He was amazed. Inside, a small girl with a ribbon in her hair, and an older looking blonde boy ate a small meal. Arthur couldn't believe the sight of the food. It looked delicious!

"Ai-ya….I want it…." Yao moaned. _Yeah, me too_, Arthur thought. They sighed and jumped from the window. They landed on the ground, sadness piercing their eyes.

Yao held his stomach as it rumbled loudly. "Can we leave? The aroma is torturing me."

He begged. The others nodded in agreement, and suddenly Arthur realized they looked up to him as their leader. He was leading this whole thing? Escape, food, water? Everything was on his shoulders. He stared at his friends, who were awaiting his response. He took a deep breath, then sighed.

_I cannot let my friends down._

"Come on, let's go back to the raft. We'll find food somewhere up ahead." He said hopefully. The others nodded in agreement. They all got up and walked towards the raft, and Alfred flinched to the sight of the ores. "I don't wanna…." He mumbled softly.

Arthur sighed. "Very well. Kiku, will you help me?"

"Hai."

They began to get in the small raft, but suddenly, they heard a slight rustling in the bushes. They all stopped and stared bleakly at the bushes. They shivered to the thought of an animal coming out and attacking them. "Uhhhhh….." Arthur stammered. They all froze and nearly screamed when a small head popped out from the bushes, soon followed by another head.

Both of them were children. They were both blonde. They also wore black cloaks like Arthur's. One looked curiously at them, the other one wore glasses and stared at them sternly. They all stood there and stared at each other for at least five minutes, until one of the blondes spoke:

"Moi moi!" he cried. "Who are you?"

"Who are _you?_" Yao growled. Arthur stepped in front of him, giving him a calm down look. Yao stepped back, still glaring at the blonde. Arthur turned to the blonde, hoping he wasn't scared. He was surprised. The blonde look more curious then ever. However, the one next to him was still giving them the same serious glare he had been giving them when he first popped out of the bushes. _Weird…._

"Wow! I never thought we'd meet other children!" the blonde cried with a smile. "I'm Tino! Who're you?"

Arthur was surprised by the blonde's enthusiasm. He turned to his friends, who were just as surprised as he was. Arthur sighed. "Well everyone, say your names."

"Matthew,"

"Alfred!"

"Kiku,"

"Kaoru,"

"Feliciano!"

"Yao!"

"And I'm Arthur." He ended the roll call.

Tino jumped up and down. "Oh boy, oh boy! Sorry, I just never met any other children before. Again, my name's Tino, and this is my friend Berwald! He may look scary but he's actually really nice. Right, Berwald?"

"Yeah…."

Arthur smiled. At least their friendly. Hey! Maybe they had food!

"Excuse my asking, but do you have any-"

"Food! Do you have any food?" Alfred but in. Arthur turned and glared at his friend. Where did he learn his manners from? He turned to the two blondes in front of them, hoping "yes" would be their answer. Tino shook his head sadly. "No, sorry. That's actually what we're out here looking for! We're gonna bring it back to our friends."

_There were more of them?_

Tino continued: "Were orphans. We scavenge for food and water, but we manage! We don't need adults help." He ended with a laugh. Arthur was amazed. They were also orphans? They lived alone, and found their own food and water, together? _Why couldn't we do that?_

"Anyway, your welcome to join us! If you help us get food, you can have some of the share! Right, Berwald?" The Finnish boy looked at his friend with a smile.

The Swede looked away. "If Lukas and the others don't mind…."

Arthur thought about their offer. These kids, who they just met, offered them a share of food? Eh, what'd they got to lose?

"Thanks, we accept." Arthur said with a nod. He heard loud cheers from Alfred, Yao, and Feliciano behind him. Clearly they were starving. Arthur turned to his friends. "Say thank you, guys."

"Thank you!" they cheered. The Finnish boy smiled at their antics. Arthur looked at the boys with a questioning look. "So where do we get the food?" he asked eagerly. Alfred padded up to him, holding his stomach hungrily. "Arthur, are we going yet?"

"Yes, yes! Give Tino a minute to speak." He scolded Alfred. Alfred stepped back, giving Tino his room to talk.

"We get it in town. We have our ways."

What did he mean by that?

"Come on! Let's go!" Tino motioned forward with his hand and ran ahead, his Swedish friend behind him.

"Come on you blokes hurry up!" Arthur called them to follow him. They quickly ran through the forest, following the Finnish and Swedish boys. A town huh? Arthur shrugged. As long as it had food, he was happy.

**Author's note!**

**Cute little Nordics XD**

**If you didn't know, the girl with the ribbon was Lichtenstein and the older blonde boy was Switzerland. Well see you in the next chapter XD**

**Tails **


	5. The town

Chapter 5

Arthur scurried through the bushes like a mouse running from a cat. These boys were fast! They can barely keep up with them. He had to admit though, it was nice walking on the fresh undergrowth of the forest instead of the hard wooden floors of the orphanage.

The boys ahead of him stopped for a moment. Arthur paused behind them, and Alfred bumped into him, knocking him over. The others behind him stopped too, panting from their running. Arthur growled and he through Alfred off of him.

"Get off me!"

"Sorry!"

Alfred rubbed his head where he fell on it. Arthur turned to Tino and Berwald, who were staring across….a street? He didn't even notice there was a street here. "Why are we just standing here?" he questioned them.

Tino answered without turning to him, "Because there is a car coming."

How did he know that? But sure enough, a car zoomed past them, shooting small stones from its tires. Arthur just stared at the car as it disappeared into the night slowly. Wow. What would've happened if it hit them?

"Ok!" Tino piped up. "We can cross now!"

Arthur and the others followed the boys across the street, and padded behind a few bushes. Arthur panted, happy another car didn't come.

"Ah!" he heard Alfred scream. He turned and saw him shaking, Feliciano shaking behind him. "What is that?!"

Arthur looked up. A strange, tall creature with rocks for feet and long branches on its head scurried away from them, scared by Alfred's scream. Alfred flinched when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Calm down. It's just a deer." Berwald said. Alfred jumped to his deep voice. Arthur turned to Tino. "Are we close to town?"

"Let me answer your question with another question. You've never seen a deer before?"

Arthur then began the nice long story of how they spent half their lives in an orphanage, never going outside. Tino nodded. "I see. Well then! Here's a chance for you to have a great experience!" Tino nodded ahead. "See? The town's right there!"

Arthur looked up. Sure enough, it was there. Lights from medium sized buildings shone through the night, and a couple of car lights swerved by. The sound of talking told him few people were out tonight.

"It's a small town, so there's not a lot of people out at night." Tino brought him back to reality. "However, the restaurants are open late. That's how we get our dinner."

"Alright. How do we pull such an operation to steal, aru?" Yao interrupted. Arthur turned to his friend, then back to Tino. They had to _steal_ their food?

"It's not that hard. We usually get food from some French place since they have a lot of bread. Also, they're like the only restaurant in town that closes somewhat early, and they're closed now."

"Huh?"

"Come. We'll show you when we get there." Tino walked through the bushes with his Swedish friend behind him. Arthur soon gave chase behind them with his friends on his heals, but he giggled a little when he heard Alfred trip slightly. They continued to run, until the reached the street of the town. It was nice. It looked kind of old fashioned with a lot of smiling faces from the people. The lights were on in all the restaurants, and you can faintly see what shop windows had to offer.

"Ai-ya! Look!" he heard Yao shout. He turned to see his friend jumping to get a closer look in a shop window. "They sell stuffed pandas in there!"

Arthur chuckled. He forgot how much his friend loved pandas. He turned to Tino who was looking from restaurant to restaurant slowly. "So, where's this French place you speak of?" he asked.

"Over there!" he pointed. Arthur looked up, and a French restaurant caught his gaze. It smelt of bread and snails. Snails?! _Gross!_ Arthur thought. He thought to their old bully Francis, who was French. Did he eat that stuff?

Tino looked at him with a smile. "Don't worry! We're here for bread, not snails!" he began to run toward an alleyway on the side of a building. He turned the side, and left them there. Where was he going?

"Come on." Berwald motioned them to follow them.

Arthur took the hint and followed, his friends behind him. They were soon surrounded by garbage, and the smell of it too. Arthur swore he saw a few rats jump away from them, which made him nearly barf. "Gross…." He heard Matthew mutter.

"Ret's move faster, away from here," Kiku pleaded. Arthur nodded, walking a little faster.

They arrived at the back door of the restaurant, which had an open window at its top. Is that how they were supposed to get in there? Arthur looked again and saw a doggy door at the bottom of the door. Maybe they can get in through there?

"Come on! Jump!" Tino remarked. _Jump?_ He wanted them to jump up there? Was he crazy?!

"Wait! I forgot. We need a lookout," Tino muttered looking around. "How about you?" he gaze fell to Matthew, who shivered at the thought of him being a lookout.

"Oh no I can't," he replied softly, "I can't yell loud enough if I see danger."

Arthur turned to him smiling. "Then let Kiku stay with you. He can kinda yell, right Kiku?"

"I guess…."

"Ok, good. You too keep watch from that tree then." Arthur pointed to a tall tree. They nodded and slowly began to climb it.

"Be careful, Kiku!" Kaoru called up to him.

"Yeah, you too Mattie!" Alfred shouted. The two climbers set themselves down on a branch and nodded to them. Arthur nodded back, realizing they made it up the tree safely.

"Ok then! Let's go!" Tino whispered, jumping through the window. His friend jumped next, and somehow, Arthur gathered his strength and jumped in after them. He was closely followed by Alfred and the others.

"Ow!" he yelled as Alfred landed on his back. Alfred stood up quickly. "Sorry!" he shivered.

"It's ok," Arthur grumbled. He stood up and saw the kitchen they were in. It was big, with a lot of dishes everywhere. It was dark since the restaurant was closed. Arthur looked around curiously. Where was the food?

"The bread is all in here." Tino ran over to a drawer. He opened it and suddenly what Arthur thought about to be fifty breadsticks fell out. "Grab a few! There's a lot of us, so we can carry a lot."

Arthur and the others listened and they grabbed as many as they could. What did bread taste like? "I think we've got enough," Kaoru huffed holding his bread. Arthur smiled. "Yeah, I think we're g—"

"AHH!"

A loud shriek and thump made Arthur drop his bread and shiver.

"Matthew-san! Matthew-san!"

Arthur retreated outside, Alfred closely behind him. Arthur stared in horror at the sight of Matthew's shivering body on the ground.

"MATTIE!" Alfred dropped his bread and ran to his friend's side. His face shimmered with tears. "Mattie! Answer me, Mattie!" Matthew shook a little but said nothing. Arthur turned to Matthew's arm. It looked twisted.

"He ferr out of the tree! Oh my god!" he heard Kiku shriek above him. Kiku never screamed before. Arthur looked up at him, and saw slight tears streaming down his face.

"It's my fault! It's my fault!" Kiku shouted. "I should've grabbed him!"

Arthur turned back to Matthew, who was still shivering. Arthur noticed he had tears streaming down his face too. He paused and heard the others run up to him, a loud gasp escaped their small crowd.

"Oh no!" Feli cried, running to Mattie's side. "Mattie! Are you alright?"

"Speak, aru!"

Arthur shivered. What can they do? Their friend was hurt, and they knew nothing about medicine. Was this it?

"It's ok!" he heard Tino shout. "Our friend Lukas knows a lot about medicine! He'll help him!"

Arthur turned to him with hopeful eyes. These children were being so nice to them. He needed to repay the favor one day. "Please help him…." Arthur begged through tears. Tino nodded. "Follow us. We'll take you to Lukas."

Arthur nodded and called his friends to follow them. The two strongest, Alfred and Yao grabbed Matthew's head and feet and pulled him along with him. Arthur could still hear Matthew whimpering.

"Kiku, come down~aru!" Yao shouted. Kiku just sat there, shaking and softly sobbing.

"No," he answered softly. "It's my fault. Go without me." Arthur felt sympathetic for his friend. It wasn't his fault! Matthew tripped.

"Kiku come down now! There's no way we're leaving you behind now get down!" Yao growled. Arthur sighed. _That's just making it worse,_ he thought. Arthur stepped in front of Yao who was glaring at his brother.

"Kiku, it's not your fault! He just tripped. You couldn't have caught him at the speed he was falling. Come on, let's go eat and get Matthew to safety."

Sure enough, the Japanese boy climbed down and stopped in front of them. "I'm sorry," he softly sniffed. Arthur smiled and put an arm around his friends shoulder. "Come. Let's go."

Kiku smiled. Arthur lead his friends after the other's who were already ahead.

They had to get Matthew help. He just hoped they can move fast enough before it was too late.

**Author's note!**

**Ok, so were dealing with a little bit of a crisis on our hands. I'm sure Matthew will be fine XD**

**See you in the next chapter! XD**

**Tails**


	6. The orphan's house

Chapter 6

They ran through the forest, the cold wind blowing against their faces. The trees howled and the scurrying feet of rabbits were heard as they ran. Arthur turned to look at Matthew, who was still being carried by Alfred and Yao. His gaze turned to his twisted arm, and Arthur gulped. Could this Lukas person really help him?

"Almost there!" he heard Tino shout. Eventually, they came to a small, wooden house. It looked destroyed on the outside, but he could see faint light from the inside. It looked as if it had been blown down a little by a storm. _This_ was where they_ lived?_ Well, they were orphans.

"Come inside!" Tino invited. He ran through a big door followed by Berwald. Kaoru and Feli ran in next, followed by Kiku, Arthur, and the others.

Inside, Arthur saw two other males sitting by a small fire in the middle of the room. One had a pale, dull look in his eyes, the other….kinda the same. Accept he had no curl, and…..was that a bird on his head?

"Lukas! Lukas! These boys need your help!" Tino ran up to the first child with pale eyes. "Their friend is hurt _really_ badly! Come look!" Tino ran to Matthew's body, and Alfred and Yao placed Matthew on the floor. Lukas slowly stood up and walked over to Matthew. He placed his hand on Matthew's twisted arm and spoke:

"Does it hurt when I do this?" he asked quietly, pressing down on Mattie's arm. Matthew let out a small shriek and shivered. "Yes."

"I see." Lukas turned to Arthur. "He twisted it. But don't worry, I can fix it."

"You can?" Arthur questioned. He didn't think an orphan can do all this. Lukas nodded. "Of course. Help me bring him to my corner over there. The one with all the small plants."

Arthur turned and saw a small corner of the room filled with small plants and flowers. It also contained tree sap. But why? Herbs maybe?

Arthur and Lukas slowly and gently picked up Matthew and brought him to the corner. They set him down softly, and Lukas motioned his head to the fire in the middle of the room. "You can go now."

"What? I can't stay over here?" _But why?_

"I'm serious. I'm going to work on his arm. I need complete and utter privacy to concentrate. So if you please…."

Arthur took the hint and nodded. He walked to the fire, where everyone else was. He sat himself next to Alfred and Yao. He smiled amusingly at Yao, who was looking around the small house. "This is just yours? Wow~aru."

Arthur chuckled and turned to Tino. "Thank you for letting us share your food. We'll repay the favor one day."

"Oh no, it's our pleasure!" Tino smiled. "Now eat your share of bread!" he added, biting into is own. "Lukas, I'll save yours!" he called to the boy working on Matthew's arm. All Lukas did was nod, without turning to Tino. Arthur watched Alfred and Yao take big, famished bites out of the bread. Their eyes shone like stars. "It's so good~aru!"

"So this is a meal! I can't believe I've never had bread before. It's so good!" Alfred yelled happily biting into more.

"Ve~! I agree! Real food!" Feliciano put in. Kaoru and Kiku said nothing, though they did chew at their food quickly.

Arthur sighed as his stomach rumbled. He remembered he dropped his bread in that French restaurant's kitchen, and now he realized how lucky his friends were to eat their own.

"Here Artie! Have some of mine!" Alfred pushed two of his share to Artie. That left Alfred with only two. "But Alfred! You'll have less!" Arthur cried.

Alfred shrugged. "So what? It's better then seeing you starve!" he laughed.

Arthur smiled and accepted the bread. He readied himself to take a bite of real food. He quickly took a bite of the bread. It was delicious. He noticed the tears of joy rushing down his own face. _Take that, Scott! Hope you're still having fun eating that soft slop!_ The thought comforted Arthur as he ate more of the bread. Best meal ever.

….

After their meal, Arthur watched as Alfred and Yao slept peacefully. He noticed Kiku and Kaoru had gone to watch Lukas, who was still rubbing some sort of herbs on his arm.

Did he fix it already or what? Arthur shrugged. _Takes time, I guess._

"By the way," he turned to Berwald's deep voice, "Where'd Mathias go?"

_Mathias?_ He thought curiously. Who was Mathias? Tino gave a small yawn and looked at Berwald with a smile. "I don't know."

"I believe he said he went to get water." Arthur jumped as he heard the child with the bird on his head finally speak. Arthur wondered who this Mathias was, but jumped when he heard Lukas mutter, "Fucking idiot."

_Huh?_ He thought.

Suddenly the door flew open. A small child with spikey hair and a big grin on his face walked through the door, holding a bucket of water. He looked filthy. He didn't smell too good either. When was the last time he bathed?

"Hey guys!" the child cheered. "I'm back! I've got water!"

"Great, now close the door damn it all the cold air is coming in." the child with the bird on his head snarled.

The boy smiled and rubbed the back of his head. "Right! Sorry Emil."

So that was his name.

"This is Mathias," Tino introduced the spikey haired boy. Arthur just stared at the grinning, filthy boy. _Bathe please. Bathe for my sanity!_

"Bathe for my sanity." As if he read his mind, Lukas said what he had thought.

"Hah! You're funny Lukas!" Mathias laughed. Why did he laugh? It was an insult. Arthur shrugged. _Oblivious I guess…._

"Hey, who're these guys?" Mathis turned and looked around at Arthur and his friends. Arthur shivered, hoping he wouldn't jump to conclusions on them.

Tino began the nice long story about how they met, and Matthew's twisted arm. Everything basically. Mathias gave a loud laugh. "Hah!" he turned to Arthur. "Don't worry, Lukas'll fix him up! Right Lukas?"

"Shut up."

Mathias laughed again and set the bucket of water beside Berwald. Berwald dug a cup into the bucket and carefully drank his water.

"You were careful around the river right?" the Swede asked the Danish boy.

"Of course!" he pouted. "I always am!"

"You know, while you were there you could've bathed." Emil put in. Mathis glared at him. "The river's frozen! Also, do you know how _hard_ it was to break to the ice to get the water and not fall in?!" he cried angrily. "It was hard…." He added in, looking away sheepishly.

"Also, that can give you frostbite." He muttered. Arthur shrugged. These kids knew a lot about the wild.

"Huh? Who's that?" Arthur turned to see Alfred waking up. Yao woke up right after him.

"Who's that~aru?" he asked tiredly. Arthur turned to Mathias. "This is Mathias."

Alfred ran over to Arthur and whispered, "Artie, he smells."

Arthur glared at him. "Manners, Alfred!"

"Sorry!"

Mathias laughed. "Hey, Emil! How do you bathe in the winter?"

"If I have not told you yet what the hell makes you think I'll tell you now?"

Mathias let out another loud laugh. "Ahh, Emil." He laughed.

He turned and sighed with a smile. "Now where's my share of bread? I'm starving!"

"Over here!" Tino called him over, waving a breadstick. Mathias hurried over and began taking famished bites out of the bread.

Alfred sighed. "So, what do you do for fun around here?" he asked.

"AHHHHH!"

Everyone turned to Matthew, who screamed loudly. "What happened?!" Alfred cried.

"Nothing," Lukas turned to them, "I just fixed his arm."

"Finally!" Alfred cried running over to his Canadian friend. "Mattie, are you alright?"

Matthew slowly looked up and smiled. He shivered a little, but was able to move his arm again. "Yeah, I'm ok…." He murmured with a smile.

_Thank god_, Arthur thought with a smile. Alfred smiled through tears and hugged his friend. "Thank god! Mattie you're alright!"

Matthew smiled but shivered a little to his hug. Lukas slowly pulled Alfred away. "The hugging can wait. Let him rest up a little." He explained.

"Aww, ok." Alfred moaned. He scurried back to Arthur and sat beside him. "So anyway, what do you do for fun?" he asked Tino again. Tino smiled. "Well, usually, we play outside. But it's winter, so we only play in the snow for a little while. Mathias however," he turned to his friend, "Will play in it all day."

Arthur smiled. "Anything else?" he asked.

Tino nodded. "In winter, we also play games inside. We have some playing cards we stole from a bar in town."

"What's a bar?"

"A place we're not aloud in." Tino laughed. Apparently these kids went into a lot of places they weren't aloud in. Arthur sighed.

**Author's note!**

**I'm sorry if the ending's not good. However, I find this chapter to be very funny. Denmark lol XD**

**See you in the next chapter! XD**

**Tails**


	7. Theif

Chapter 7

Arthur was awoken the next morning by a rumbling stomach.

"Come _on_, Lukas! We don't have to wait for the others to get up to get food! I'm_ starving_! Let's go!"

"No."

"Come _ON! _Please?!"

"No."

"Please shut up. Since I'm awake now we can go." Berwald growled. Mathias and Lukas quickly turned to their friend, who was sitting up, giving them an annoyed glance. "Heh heh. Sorry, Berwald." Mathias laughed softly. Berwald just looked away in annoyance. Arthur sat up and yawned. "Good morning," he greeted. Lukas looked at him in surprise. "Good morning." He replied.

"Wait! Where's Kumajiro?!" a small cry escaped the now awake Matthew. Arthur turned to see his Canadian friend looking around nervously for his stuffed bear. Arthur sighed. "Over here." He picked up the bear and brought it over to Matthew. Matthew grabbed the bear from his arms, and snuggled it close to his face. "Thank you!" his small, happy cry made Arthur smile. "Feeling better, huh?"

"Oh my, yes!" Matthew nodded. Arthur smiled. _Good._

"Food! Food!" Arthur turned to Mathias and a now awake Alfred, who were cheering and waving their arms for food. Arthur was going to say something but Lukas beat him to it.

"Listen. We'll go when Tino and the others wake up. Shut up for now and wait." He turned and walked to his herb pile, and began stocking up what Arthur thought was maple leaves. "But that will be forever!" Alfred whined. "Yeah!" Mathias put in. "Let's just go alr-"

"WE WILL GO WHEN THE OTHERS WAKE UP. OKEJ?" Arthur jumped when he saw Berwald go up to Mathias and Alfred and sneer with his stern eyes blazing. Mathias and Alfred squeaked and jumped back. "O-ok!" They shivered. Berwald watched them as he walked away. Arthur surprisingly found that funny, and did his best to hide his laugh. He couldn't. He let it out and fell to the floor, holding his stomach.

"Very funny!" Alfred yowled. That only made Arthur laugh harder. He eventually stopped and lay himself on the floor smiling. He liked this.

….

"We're back!" Mathias cried. He came in through the door, carrying breadsticks with him. He was followed by Berwald, Lukas, and Tino.

"Good. You made it back alive." Emil muttered. Arthur was curious as to how they stole bread in the daytime since the restaurant was open, and obviously someone would see them. He shrugged it off. Everyone began munching on their bread, and Tino glanced up to Berwald:

"Is it good, Berwald?" he asked with a smile

Berwald turned away. "Yeah…." He answered softly. Was that a slight blush on his face?

Suddenly, a knock came from the door. Everyone turned to it, questioning the door's small movements from the wind. "Ve~who's that?" Feliciano asked, shaking.

"I don't know," Emil answered nervously. Arthur waited patiently for someone to go up to the door and open it, but no one did.

Then there was another knock.

"I'll go," Berwald offered bravely. Tino opened his mouth to stop him, but the Swede already opened the door. A small child came in and pushed him down and he fell to the ground with an umph! The child dashed past all of them and grabbed as much bread as he could. He sped out the door, laughing.

"Stop! That's our food!" Arthur turned and saw Alfred get up and run out the door, a vengeance-hungry Berwald behind him. "Come back!" Arthur and Tino yelled together. They ran after them, trying to stop them.

"Stay here! "I'rr go with them!" Kiku ordered softly. Thankfully, they obeyed and stayed behind. Kiku ran ahead and eventually caught up to the others. They were closing in on the boy, who struggled to run ahead of them. He turned and noticed they were catching up to him.

_Oh great,_ he thought in annoyance.

It did not take long for Alfred to pounce on the boys back, sending him to the floor, and the breadsticks flying everywhere. Alfred stood on the boy's back smiling, and the boy struggled under his weight. "H-hey!" he cried. "G-get off! You're hurting me! Get off! Ok, look! Just don't jump on me!"

"May I?" Alfred sneered. He began to jump on the boy, making him squeal with pain. "Owwwww! Ow!" he cried.

Berwald went to his face smiling. "Hey, hey we don't want any trouble. Just give us back our food." The Swede realized it was a dumb demand, since the breadsticks were scattered all over the floor. The boy looked up at them in annoyance and growled. "Jeez, ok! Just get off me!"

"NOT YET!" Berwald shouted. "Guys, gather up the breadsticks." He looked at Tino and Arthur. They nodded and began to collect them. They walked over to Berwald with the breadsticks in their hands. He nodded and slowly turned back to the boy, who was still stuck under Alfred.

"What's yer name?" he asked, his Swedish accent rolling. The boy rolled his eyes. "Jeez, what do you want next? A kiss on the cheek?" The boy laughed at his own joke. Berwald glared at him with a growl, signifying he was not joking. The boy shivered. "Alright, fine! I'm Yong Soo."

"Ah-hah. And why wer' ya' stealin' our food?" he snarled. "We worked hard t' get that."

The boy looked away sheepishly, blushing. "It-it's for my sister…."

Sister? He had a sister? Arthur stared at the Asian boy who was still shivering under Alfred's weight. He needed their help.

**Author's note!**

**It's sad that I just figured out a Swedish accent now, and just started using it now. I'm so sorry T_T**

**Anyway, young Yong Soo has made an appearance. I couldn't resist people come on he's funny XD**

**Anyway, see you in the next chapter XD**

**Tails**


	8. The other orphans

Chapter 8

"Y-Your sister?" Berwald stammered. Instantly he felt bad for shouting. Arthur watched with amazement as the Swede gave an embarrassed blush. He turned away from Yong Soo, his blush fading. "Take it."

"WHAT?!" The Asian boy and American boy both screamed. One happy, one terrified.

"However," Berwald turned back to the boy with a glare. "You're taking us with you t' meet her." The boy jumped and Alfred gave him a questioning look. _Oh, I get it,_ Arthur thought,_ he doesn't trust him, so he's making us go with him to see if he really has a sister!_

Yong Soo smiled. "Very well," he sneered. "Follow me."

Obviously the kid wasn't lying. Arthur and the others followed the Asian boy through the woods, snow lightly falling.

Yong Soo stopped in front of a small shed and turned back to them grinning. "Ok, this is it. You wanna go in or should I call her out?"

"We're going in." Berwald snarled. Arthur noticed everyone jumped to his snarl except Tino. Was Tino used to this or something? Arthur shrugged. He turned back to the Korean boy who by now was snickering. "Fine. Come in." he invited.

Arthur gulped. Was this safe?

They made their way in, looking around cautiously for any traps the smartass boy could have planted. They all sighed when they realized there was nothing wrong.

"What the hell is wrong with you guys? You guys look like you thought I was gonna kill you or something!" Yong Soo laughed.

"Not _me_," Berwald lied. He was a little nervous. The Korean boy turned around and called,

"Mei Mei! Mei Mei, come out here! There's a nice Swedish boy who wants to meet you." He smirked at the Swede. Berwald instantly growled with a blush. "Not funny." He snarled. The Korean shrugged. "That's how your acting." He narrowed his eyes.

Arthur flinched when he saw Tino grab Berwald's hand, and Berwald instantly flinched with a blush. "Don't annoy Berwald! Or he'll hurt you! Right, Berwald?" The Finnish boy smiled at him.

Berwald shivered. "Y-Yeah….right….." he stammered. He took his hand away from the Finnish boy's grasp and continued to glare on at the boy. "Well? Where is she?" he challenged.

Yong Soo rolled his eyes. "_Give_ her a minute. Mei mei! Let's go!" he yowled.

_I thought you said give her a minute,_ Arthur thought.

"Coming!" a high pitched voice from the next room called back to them. Instantly a small girl appeared in front of them in a pink kimono. She was pretty. She smiled at all of them.

"Brother, who are they?" she turned to her brother. "And brother please stop making that stupid smirking face you make whenever you think you are right."

Indeed the child was smirking. He turned to Berwald. "_This_ is my sister. Good enough proof for you?" he sneered. Berwald growled. "_Yes it is."_ He snarled. He dropped a few breadsticks in front of them, as he promised. "Come on everyone, let's go." He nodded towards the door. Everyone followed close behind as Berwald walked out. Arthur took one last glance at the Korean boy who was still smirking._ How could that poor girl live with him?_ He thought making his way out the door.

They were somewhat far away from the shed before Arthur stopped and realized they were missing some one. "Hey, where's Kiku?" he said looking around. Everyone copied him and looked around. Kiku was nowhere to be seen. Arthur began to panic. "Where did he go?!" he yowled.

"Um, get out of my house now." The Korean boy snarled. Kiku did not budge. He stood there, annoying the Korean boy every second that passed by.

"Uh, Uh, Sumi-masen…."

"I don't speak Japanese kid. Now get out."

"Wait, Yong Soo! Maybe he's hungry." Mei Mei's voice disturbed the argument. Kiku looked away blushing. "No, I'm not hungry. But I am thirsty."

"Then go to the river. Go on, scram." Yong Soo snarled. The Taiwanese girl pulled on his curl, making the Korean boy shriek with pain. "Come," she motioned with her head, "I'll get you some water."

"Arigato."

Kiku followed her to the back room. It was surprisingly decorated, and had interesting knick-knacks everywhere.

"We're orphans you know."

Kiku turned the girl. She was taking water from a bucket and pouring it into a cup. She walked over to him and handed him the glass. He blushed harder when their hands touched. He took a drink of the water and sighed. "Still cold."

"Yes it is." She smiled. "Anyway, like I was saying, we're orphans like you."

"How do you know we're orphans?"

"We've been watching your blonde friend and his friends for quite a while now. I know it sounds weird but the only reason we watch them is because we need to know how to live out in the wild. We've only been out here for a few weeks."

Kiku drank more water, intrigued by her story. "Go on."

"Well-"

"Wait. Why are you out here? We're you always orphans?"

"No, not exactly." She answered nervously. "We had foster parents, but they didn't like us very much. They wouldn't really feed us a lot, and we barely ever had time to play because they made us do chores. So, we ran away…."

Kiku jumped. "You ran away? But why? You at least you had food!"

She sighed. "I know it sounds absurd. But still, they treated us terribly, and besides, we get food from town! We learned by watching your blonde friend and his friends!"

Kiku smiled. "At least you're ok." He immediately flinched and blushed. "I-I…."

She smiled. "Thank you for your concern though! You should get back to your friends though. They must be worried." Kiku thought to his friends, probably worried sick about where he was. Then he thought to Yao, who would freak if he found out he was missing.

"Your right," he sighed. "I must go."

"'Bout time!" the annoyed voice of Yong Soo sounded from the doorway.

"Brother, please! He's leaving. I'll escort you out." She smiled.

"Suit yourself." Yong Soo shrugged and headed back into the other room. Mei Mei lead Kiku to the door and they stood outside in the softly falling snow. "Um, ah, arigato." Kiku bowed. "For everything."

Mei Mei smiled. "No trouble!"

Kiku smiled. "Will….Will I see you again?" he immediately flinched and looked away, a burning red on his face. "I-I-gomen…."

She smiled. "It's ok. I'm sure we'll see each other again."

Kiku turned to her, her smiling face made his heart flutter. "See you soon then." She turned and walked back inside.

Kiku watched her leave. He turned away and began to walk back to Berwald's place. "Yeah….soon…." he muttered softly with a smile.

"Kiku! Kiku, where are you?!" Arthur called. Everyone was looking for him, calling. Arthur sighed and realized these calls were getting them nowhere. Was…Was he gone?

Before he could burst into tears, Arthur saw the familiar shape of Kiku walking towards them.

"KIKU!" he shouted running up to his friend. "Where were you?" he asked through tears.

"There he is!" Alfred yelled running towards them. Everyone stopped beside Kiku, asking him where he was.

"Please please, give me a minute to speak." He panted.  
>"You heard him. Shut up." Berwald's deep voice silenced everyone.<br>"Thank you." Kiku smiled. "If you really must know, I was with Mei Mei…." He turned to hide his blush.  
>"Wow! You've got a crush!" Alfred yowled. Arthur slammed his fist onto Alfred's head, causing him to squeak with pain. "Don't embarrass him!" he shouted.<p>

"Sorry!" Alfred whimpered rubbing his head.  
>"So Kiku, is this true?" Arthur asked.<br>Kiku nodded slowly. Arthur smiled. _Aw, he has a crush_. 

"Aw! How wonderful!" Tino cheered. "That's beautiful! Right Berwald?"

"Yeah…." He answered with a blush.  
>Kiku looked away. "No, please. I- can we just go back?" he shivered.<br>"Don't crowd around 'm." Berwald said. "Yer makin' him nervous. Let's just take 'm back."

Kiku nodded greatfully to him, and they made their way back.

"Ai-ya! What happened to you guys~aru?! You we're gone forever~aru!" Yao scolded.

"Yeah Berwald what gives?" Mathias commented. "Where were you guys?" Mathias took a look at the bread they we're carrying. "You didn't get it all back."

"Nej. It's a long story." Berwald explained everything.

"Ah. I see." Mathias said.

"Kiku has a crush." Alfred said suddenly.

"Alfred-kun!" Kiku jumped in embarrassment. Arthur leapt onto Alfred and sat on him as punishment.  
>"Get off!" he cried.<br>"Not until you gain some manners!" 

Everyone was laughing at this. Even Berwald uttered a smile.

….

That night, everyone slept peacefully.

**Author's note!**

**JapanxTaiwan. I ship it X3  
>Well we have an official ship! I think it's cute. Right Kiku?<strong>

**Kiku: Ha-Hai.**

**Yeah. Here are some translations:**

**Sumi-masen- Japanese for excuse me**

**Arigato- Japanese for thank you**

**Gomen/Gomenazai- Japanese for I'm sorry**

**See you in the next chapter XD**

**Tails**


	9. Far away is another escape

Chapter 9

Gilbert's stomach rumbled. He did not eat yesterday. Or all week. He stood up and stared out the window. Ever since Arthur and the others escaped the windows were ordered to be locked forever. Never to be opened again. The people who ran the orphanage feared other kids would escape. Now he and all of his friends were stuck here. They had planned to escape too, but that's never gonna happen now.

"You ok, mon ami?"

Gilbert turned to Francis, who was standing below him. He turned away sadly. "No…."

"Tres~bein. What's wrong?"

"Nothing. It's just hopeless."

"What is?"

"Escape. Escape is hopeless. Thanks to that damn British kid." Gilbert clenched his hand into a fist.

Francis sighed. "I understand. Thanks to Angeletrre, we can no longer escape the way they did."  
>Gilbert looked back at him, thankful that his friend understood.<p>

"Come on," Francis motioned to the door with his hand, "Breakfast is ready."

"No, not hungry."

"You haven't eaten in days, mon ami. All week actually. You're gonna starve to death if you don't eat, even if its slop."

Gilbert sighed. He was right. He jumped down from his bed and stared at his French friend with pale red eyes. "Ok let's go."

They walked down the hall of the old orphanage, the floorboards cracked beneath their feet. The smell of dead rats also drifted on the air. Then the smell of the food hit Gilbert's nose. _Disgusting!_

Suddenly, a familiar face walked in front of them. Francis smiled. "Hey look. It's Rodrich. Why don't you teach him a lesson, eh?"

"Great idea." Gilbert smiled. He walked over to Rodrich. This is what he needed. _This_ would make him feel better.

He nearly made it over to the Austrian boy, but he felt cold hands grasp the back of his shirt and pull. Once he heard Francis shriek, he knew exactly who it was.

"E-E! Eliza- Elizabeth! STOP!" he screamed through chokes. The Hungarian girl threw him to the floor, and he turned to her, coughing. "Leave him alone, _freak_." She snarled. "How many times do I have to TELL YOU THAT?!" her voice escalated loudly.

Gilbert stared at her with wide, red eyes. His expression immediately turned hostile, and he stood up and yelled, "Well then tell him to grow a pair of balls and fight for himself for once! It's sad he needs to depend on a _girl_ to protect him!" his gaze fell to Rodrich, "Come on! Learn to fight!"

Rodrich flinched with a whimper behind Elizabeth's back. The Hungarian girl didn't think twice when she punched Gilbert in the face, making his cheek run red.

"There. Now your cheek is as red as your_ eyes._" She snarled. "Freak. Come on Rodrich. Breakfast is ready." She smiled and gave her hand to the Austrian boy's hand, and he smiled. She picked him up and they began walking to the dining room, holding hands.

"Are you alright, mon ami?!" Francis yowled running to his friend. He picked him up by the hand and stared at his cheek. "Let's get that wound fixed up."

Gilbert glared at him.

"Now before you accuse me of not helping you, it's only because Elizabeth terrifies me." He defended.

Gilbert sighed. He was terrified of her too, a little. He looked down, trying hide his tears. She always made fun of his eyes. _Always._ He felt Francis put a hand on his shoulder.

"Mon ami, don't cry. Come on, Antonio is waiting for us in the dining room."

Gilbert sniffed. Now he let his tears fall. "What's the difference?"

"Huh?"

"Between me and other people. Just the eyes then? Nothing else?" he said through tears.

Francis sighed. "Gilbert, don't listen to that bitch. She thinks she's perfect. Now come on, let's go."  
>Francis lead his friend to the dining room. Their slop awaited them.<p>

….

"Let's escape."

"Que? That's impossible, mi amigo. The windows are locked now, and the only other escape route is through the basement. _That's_ impossible." Antonio looked down, disappointed.  
>Francis looked away. "He's right, mon ami. It's foolish."<p>

Gilbert glared at them. "We can try! The other kids did it! Don't you remember Scott is still here? We can escape him too!"

"Yeah, but…." Antonio began. "If they found us trying to escape, they'd kill us."

"Literally."

"Come_ on!_" Gilbert cried. "We can be free! Out in the world! With real food!"

Antonio looked up. "Does that mean tomatoes?" he asked hopefully.

"If I've asked you once I've asked you one hundred times, _what_ is a tomato?" Gilbert asked.

Antonio gasped. "Fool! It's delicious!"

"Yeah yeah, whatever." He began. "Anyway, we can have those if we escape!"  
>Antonio thought for a moment. "I don't know….."<p>

"Come _on!_ Tomatoes tomatoes tomatoes! And _Francis_, think about seeing real roses!" he went over to his friends ear and whispered, "and _woman_." 

"I'M IN." they both said together.  
>"Yes!" Gilbert cheered, fist pumping. "Tonight, we escape. Let's establish a plan."<p>

"NOT SO FAST."

The three of them turned to see the familiar face of Ludwig. Gilbert flinched.  
>"H-Hey, west!" Gilbert stammered nervously. "I-I-I was just….."<p>

"Planning an escape plan, without _me?_" he smirked.  
>"Or <em>me?<em>" Lovino stepped out from behind him. _"Bastards….._"

"Lovi!" Antonio cried happily. "You're coming with us?"  
>"Oh my god." Gilbert deadpanned. "Too many people!"<p>

"Too bad. We're coming. Or would you leave your little brother behind?" Ludwig growled. His brother began to shake. "N-No way west! I'd never leave you behind! I was gonna come find you after we established the plan! Right guys?" the other two nodded.

"Yeah ok." Ludwig rolled his eyes.  
>Gilbert smirked. "You just wanna see Feliciano again!" he laughed. Ludwig reeled back his fist ready to punch.<br>"Stop!" Antonio yelled. "Can we just establish this plan please?" his green eyes wide.

"He's right." Francis put it. "We're wasting time by arguing."  
>"Right!" Gilbert smiled. "Here's my plan."<p>

….

Nighttime came. Everyone was asleep. Gilbert stood up slowly in bed and shook his brother.  
>"Ready West?" he asked softly.<p>

"Ready."

"Let's wake up the others." Gilbert and Ludwig slowly got up and woke the others. Waking up everyone wasn't so hard….except for Lovino.  
>"Lovino!" Gilbert snarled. "Wake up!"<p>

"Not like that!" Antonio growled. "Like this. Hey, Lovi! They finally bought tomatoes into the orphanage!"  
>"Huh?" the Italian stood straight up in bed, his eyes weary. "Where?" <p>

"The _plan_, dumbass." Ludwig snarled. "Come on, let's go."  
>Before Lovino could curse him out, Ludwig and the others already dashed down the stairs. "Hey, wait for me!" Lovino called, running after them. <p>

The basement was cold and dark, and they couldn't reach the light that was hanging from the ceiling. Gilbert gulped. He was scared to step forward, 'cause what if he fell down the stairs?  
>"Well, go on." Ludwig pressured.<br>"I'm going!" Gilbert yowled softly. He took a small, nervous step forward, and felt the first step. He made another move again, and then he felt the second step. He moved his foot forward again, but turned to Ludwig and the others to say: "See? It's not so har- OW! OW! OW! OW! OW!" Gilbert tumbled down the stairs. 

"GILBERT!"

"BRUDER!"

"Are you ok?!" Antonio called down. Gilbert didn't answer at first, but they heard slight movement at the bottom of the stairs. "Y-yeah," he coughed. "I'M FINE."  
>Ludwig sighed in relief.<p>

"Hey guys?" Gilbert called.  
>"Yes?"<p>

"How can you tell if you have internal bleeding?" Gilbert whimpered. Ludwig and the others rushed downstairs.  
>"Oh great. You run downstairs and end up fine, meanwhile I<em> walk<em> downstairs and trip and almost die. Very funny." Gilbert sneered.  
>"Shut up." Ludwig snarled. "Are you ok?" Ludwig helped his brother up and began checking him for broken bones and bruises.<br>"I'M FINE." Gilbert pulled his arm away from his brother's grasp, although he did have bruises on his arms and legs.

The children stared up at the door that lead to the outside. The doorknob was high, so they'd have to stand on each other's shoulders to get it. "Come on, Antonio. Get up on my shoulders and you'll open it." Antonio nodded. He began to walk to Gilbert, but suddenly, 

"STOP RIGHT THERE."

They turned around nervously to see and angered Elizabeth with a shaking Rodrich behind her back. She looked furious, and Rodrich, like always, looked nervous.  
>"ELIZABETH?!" They screamed. They immediately shushed themselves. They didn't want to wake anyone up. Gilbert walked over to her and snarled softly:<p>

"Elizabeth,_ WHAT_ are you doing here?!"

She smirked. "I figured you do something like this. Take us with you."

"_Huh?"_

"You heard me. Or do I need to repeat myself?" she snarled.  
>Gilbert stepped back. "No no! I heard you!" he turned to his brother. "Well, Ludwig?"<br>"Too many people."  
>"<em>Exactly<em>." Gilbert sneered. "So go away."  
>"Then I'll tell." She sneered. "And the people who work here will come looking for you." <p>

"Um, she could come with us then." Antonio's innocent voice distracted Gilbert from yelling at Elizabeth. (He was going to.)  
>"You'll <em>tell?<em>" he sneered, "That's childish."  
>"We <em>are<em> children, idiot." She sneered. "Now come on. Open the door."

Gilbert sighed. "She'll snitch if we don't. So let's bring 'em."  
>"Bruder.."<br>"They're coming. Even Rodrich." Gilbert did not want to bring him, but he had no choice. Elizabeth would tell on them if they didn't.  
>Rodrich shook a little, but nodded his thanks to Gilbert. Gilbert did nothing but return a glare.<br>"Come on Antonio. On my shoulders."

The Spaniard child climbed on his friend's shoulders and carefully and slowly opened the door. It creaked a little, but the outside moonlight shone in brightly. The children carefully stepped outside, to a backyard, their eyes round with wonder.  
>Slowly, they closed the door, and Antonio jumped from his friend's shoulders. None of the children spoke. They were to baffle by the moon, the stars, and the grass.<p>

"Lovi, look! Grass is so soft!" Toni rubbed the grass with his hand, and Lovino joined him. Elizabeth ran up to a tree and slowly rubbed the bark. "Come, Rodrich! Doesn't a tree fell nice and rickety?"  
>The Austrian boy trotted over to the tree and placed his hand on it. He began to rub slowly, and smiled. "Yeah.."<br>Ludwig glanced to his brother, who was staring at Elizabeth longingly. "Is that a blush I see?" Ludwig smiled. 

Gilbert jumped back. "N-no!" he insisted, "He just annoys me so much that it makes me so mad that my face turns red. See?" he pointed to his red cheeks.  
>"Sure bruder."<br>"GAHH!" Gilbert yelled with embarrassment.  
>"Me amigos, how do we get out of here?" Antonio looked around the large yard. It was huge, but it had to have an opening somewhere. They checked the fences, looking for hole. Nothing. <p>

"I've got an idea!" Gilbert shouted.  
>"Oh god," Ludwig and Elizabeth deadpanned.<br>"Oh, shut up! Look, let's dig a hole under the fence, like a dog!"

"We're not animals!" Elizabeth shouted. Rodrich shivered behind her.  
>"Then we go nowhere." Gilbert crossed his arms with a smirk. The girl shivered for a moment, then nodded, realizing for once, he was right. The Prussian boy dashed to the side of the fence that lead to the street and immediately began to dig. He tore up the ground like a dog, and within minutes he was covered in dirt. He turned back to them panting. "Ok, let's go. We should all fit."<p>

Indeed they did. Everyone carefully scurried under the fence and made it to the sidewalk. Once everyone was on the sidewalk, they couldn't help but cheer. 

"We did it! We did it me amigos!" Antonio cheered, jumping u and down.  
>"Quiet, you bastard! If anyone hears us, we're toast!"<br>"Sorry, Lovi…."

""What now?" Francis put in.

"Now we run. Let's find shelter somewhere. Fast." A rumble of thunder proved Ludwig's point of finding shelter.

"West is right. Let's go." The children began to run to the right, not knowing what they we're getting themselves into.

**Author's note!**

**Wow. This chapter was a long one. So anyway now we see Gilbert's side of the story. This is like a two sided story thing XD**

**Also, look! PruHun! XD**

**Anyway I hope you liked it. Please leave a review and whatnot. See you in the next chapter :3**

**Tails**


	10. Fox

Chapter 10

The children ran through the streets as rain began to fall from the dark night clouds. Gilbert took the lead of the small running posse. They were all following him, yet he had absolutely no idea where to go. All he saw around them was tall buildings and a big river.

A river….that's it!

"Everyone, follow me!" he shouted. He quickly changed direction and ran towards the river. He spotted a small bridge and decided to go to the stairs that lead down from them. Slowly the others followed, and they made it below the bridge. They sat down, panting. Gilbert panted with relief that they got to safety before anyone from the orphanage came to look for them.

Under the bridge it was cold and dark. Sure it sheltered them from the rain, but where were they going to find food and water? Also, they couldn't stay here forever! They didn't think this over. Where were they gonna go?

"So what do we do now?" Elizabeth broke the silence.

Everyone turned to Gilbert, who began to pant nervously.

"I-how the heck should I know?! I just planned the escape, I didn't know I was in charge of our survival!"

"Actually, I thought we were a team. But if we need a leader, it should be you, bruder. You planned the escape and got us all to safety. I think you can lead us." Ludwig stared at his brother with his sky blue eyes that pierced seriousness.

"_Him?!_ Hah! He can't lead us! He'd throw us all under the bus to save himself!" Elizabeth sneered, "Plus! I don't think he can manage it otherwise."

"Don't rush into things, mon ami. He did help us all escape."

"Si, that's right. We wouldn't be here had it had not been for him."

"I don't care who leads us you damn bastards."

Elizabeth glared at all of them. "You _fools!_ I could lead better then him. _Anyone_ can lead better then him! I think he should not be our leader, and that I sh-"

"Elizabeth, that is enough!"

Everyone jumped when they heard little Rodrich yell. Rodrich hardly ever spoke at all, and he yelled? Weird.

"What is it Rodrich?" Ludwig asked.

Rodrich turned away from Elizabeth's surprised look. "It's just..well..I know me and Gilbert don't get along, but he did a pretty good job of getting us out of there. I think he can do more. So….I think he should lead us. Ok?" he stopped and shivered at Elizabeth's wide green eyes.

"You're not mad are you?" he squeaked.

Elizabeth sighed. "No."

"Great then we have a decision. Bruder, you're in charge."

"But-!"

"NO BUTS!"

Gilbert turned away nervously. _Can I really protect them? Can I lead them and get them food and water? I can try. I'm awesome anyway!_

"I'll do it!" he smiled, accepting the offer. Cheers came from Antonio and Francis, followed by a smile from Rodrich, and a smile from Ludwig.

Gilbert turned to Elizabeth and his happy expression fell when he saw Elizabeth turned away from him, snarling in disgust.

He turned away sadly. Did she really hate him that much?

….

The next morning was cloudy. Gilbert sat up and stretched. His back ached from sleeping on hard concrete, and he was sure the others weren't pleased by how it felt either. He stood up and sighed at the long river ahead of them.

It look everlasting. Where did it go?

He didn't need to care at the moment. He had to find food for everyone. Or else his new leadership would be questioned.

"Hey bruder, you're awake?"

Gilbert turned and smiled at his brother, who was sitting up with a tired gaze in his eyes.

"Ja. West, come help me look for food."

"Huh? Where? There's no food around here. We can't steal from shops either."

"True. But hey, isn't Lovino good at pickpocketing?"

"_Bruder.._" Ludwig snarled a warning. Gilbert stepped back.

"Hey he's done it before! You should've seen some of the stuff he took out of the one of the woman's pockets at the orphanage! It was weird. They were these small white sticks with orange at the end. They looked stupid so we flushed them down the toilet, kesese!"

By now Ludwig had turned away with hopelessness in his gaze. He already feared they were all going to die. Gilbert could tell how annoyed his brother was and smiled. "Oh come on, West! Look, I'll go find food, wait for everyone to wake up, ja?"

"Too late." Elizabeth's tired voice sounded behind them. She had awoken along with everyone else. Antonio yawned and turned to Gilbert. "Where are you going?"

"To find food."

"Oh oh! Let me come! We might find tomatoes!" the Spaniard dashed to his side and jumped up and down excitedly. Gilbert smiled.

"Well since west doesn't want to come I guess you can! And you, Francis?"

"Wi, I'll come."

Gilbert smiled and the trio dashed off to the left. "Come back alive!" Ludwig's cry echoed the sky.

The children had searched for a while. They just kept walking. Eventually, the buildings began to grow smaller and smaller from a distance, and more trees began to appear. The trio grew worried that they may have gone too far.

"Oui, I think we should turn back." Francis spoke.  
>"I agree, I think we're too far away from the others. Also, if we keep going, who knows where we'll end up." Antonio shivered after his long statement.<p>

Gilbert frowned. "No! I promised to bring back food! Now follow me, I think I see berries."

"Berries?"

"Yeah. This way." The Prussian boy lead the way through the trees.

"Wait, mon ami! That's going off the path we took! We can get lost!" Francis warned.

Gilbert didn't even look back. "Who cares! Just follow me, we'll be ok!"

The other two considered what to do. What if Gilbert got hurt by himself? They nodded in agreement and followed their leader.

They had been running for nearly five minutes until they reached a small den. Gilbert stopped and looked inside. It was dark and smelled like animals. Gilbert froze but looked curiously as he could make out a small, snarling figure in the den. _A fox?_

"Don't go in there! There can be an animal in there!" Francis pulled his friend away with a snarl.

Gilbert pulled away from his friend's grasp. "Calm down! It's just a fox!"

"A fox?"

"Yeah! What's it gonna do? It's like a tiny dog!" Gilbert laughed. 

"We're tiny too, mi amigo. It could hurt us." Antonio shivered.

Gilbert frowned. "Oh come on! We're strong! If it attacked us, we would fight it off!"

"I think you're expecting too much out of all of us, Gilbert!" Francis snarled.

"I'm not!" Gilbert insisted. "It's o-"

Before he was able to continue a loud snarl interrupted them. They turned to see a large figure with sharp teeth and long claws snarling at them with angry green eyes. Drool dripped from the creature's fangs as it stood over them and yowled loudly.

"THAT'S NOT A FOX THAT'S A MONSTER!" Antonio screeched.

"RUN!" Gilbert screamed.

He ran ahead hoping that the others would follow him, but unfortunately they split up behind him, and they were all now separated. Gilbert turned and saw that out of the three of them, the fox had decided to run after _him._ Gilbert ran as fast he could. The cold wind blew against his face as he ran, and he could hear the fox snarling close behind him.

By now he could feel the fox's breath on his back, warning him that it was only a foot-length away from biting him. Gilbert nearly screeched with fear, but he caught his breath. The next second he felt nothing beneath him. Nothing but air. Everything seemed to be in slow motion as he realized he was falling.

He felt himself hit rock the first few times until he landed on the ground with one final crash. His head hit the ground sharply and he felt his body begin to go numb. He took one final look at the small cliff he had fallen down, then everything went black.

"GILBERT! WAKE UP!"

"BRUDER!"

Gilbert heard the voices of his friends and brother screaming for him. Slowly he was able to open his eyes. Everything looked blurry. He could barely see any of them, and the air strangely smelled of blood.

Thankfully his vision began to clear and he could see everyone just fine. His red eyes met with those of his brother's blue eyes. Was Ludwig crying?

"East! Bruder. Thank god you're alright!" Ludwig gasped with relief.

Gilbert sat up slowly. He was back under the bridge? But how? The last thing he remembered was being chased by a fox and falling down a small cliff.

The _cliff_.

"Easy, easy mon ami. Sit up slowly." Francis' worried voice sounded behind him. He felt his friend help him sit up slowly, and gilbert nodded his thanks.

"What happened?" he asked. "I mean, I know I fell down a cliff, but how'd we get back here?"

"After we realized the fox was chasing neither of us, we assumed it was chasing after you," Antonio began, "So we both met up by the fox den again, and began to run after you."

Antonio looked away for his last sentence. "When we found you, you had fallen down a small cliff, and blood was pouring from your head." He turned back to Gilbert, "It still is."

Gilbert knew there was a reason it smelled like blood in here. He also figured that must be the explanation for the throbbing pain on the back of his head. He raised his hand to touch it, but felt his hand get smacked away.

"Don't touch it you idiot!" Elizabeth shouted, "You'll make it worse!"

Gilbert shivered. Was she helping him?

"What do we do?" Ludwig asked nervously, "None of us know anything about medical care."

"What about a doctor?" Rodrich suggested.

"No good. What would a doctor do if seven children walked into his office and begged for help? Especially if one kid had a bleeding head?"

"Um.."

"He would ask for our _parents._ We have no parents. He would send us right back to the orphanage."

Everyone sighed as they realized Ludwig was right. What could they do for medical care? 

"I'm sorry.." Gilbert sighed.

"Sorry?" Ludwig repeated.

"Yes, sorry!" Gilbert yowled. "I tried to get us food but was careless and got injured. I'm sorry. I'm your leader and I've been injured. I've failed you all and I'm sorry."

Ludwig smiled. "No bruder. It's ok. Leaders make mistakes and you've been hurt. Right now all we care about is getting your wound cleaned up. Also, mistakes make you stronger because you learn from them. Right everyone?"

They all nodded. Gilbert stared with amazement at his brother. His speech was so inspiring it brought him to tears.

"Don't cry bruder." Ludwig chuckled.

"Well, it's tears of joy and pain." Gilbert laughed as he gripped the back of his head. The more he spoke the more it hurt. Ludwig layed his brother back onto the cold concrete floor, and from exhaustion and pain from the wound, Gilbert passed out again and fell asleep.

A worried Ludwig gave a sigh. "We need to find medical treatment. Fast."

**Author's note!**

**The fox idea is highly inspired by Warriors The Sight. The book is a huge inspiration for me XD**

**So, we are dealing with a crisis on our hands but fear not! I'm sure Gilbert will be fine XD**

**See you in the next chapter :3**

**Tails**


	11. Reunion

Chapter 11

Lukas stepped into the middle of the room and began his announcement:

"Alright everyone. I'm going to go look for herbs to make medicine with. I'll be back in a little while."

"Be careful!" Tino cried. "I think a blizzard is coming, so be back soon!"

"Yeah yeah."

"Yeah Luky be careful! If any of us get sick and you're not around we'll all die!" Mathias laughed.

Lukas just returned a glare. He began to walk out of the small shed until he was stopped by a scurrying Yao.

"Wait! May I watch your herbs while you're gone? I'll make sure nothing happens to them~aru."

_How cheezy._ Lukas narrowed his eyes. Could he trust him? The Chinese boy was giving him a pleading look, and looked like he would explode any minute. Lukas sighed.

"What the hell. You can watch them. Make sure no one goes near them, ESPECIALLY Mathias."

"Hey!"

"Oh XieXie~aru! I'll watch them!" Yao ran to the pile of leaves and flowers and sat there, slowly looking over the room to make sure no one even _dare_ come close.

Lukas sighed._ What the hell is his problem? Their just herbs._

Lukas walked outside into the heavy snow. The now was cold and he felt his legs immediately go numb. He couldn't turn back though. He continued to walk ahead, braving the loud, fierce wind.

….

"Finally. Lillies." The Norwegian child sighed. He gathered a few of them in his pockets.

Wonderful. He had almost everything he needed. Flowers and herbs were so hard to find in the winter. They barely ever grew. Lukas knew it was hard to see any green through the white snow that blanketed the ground, so he would have to dig to find what he needed.

Now all he needed was water lilies. Those grew far away down the river though, near the city. And he would have to break through the ice to get to them, if they were even alive.

Lukas sighed and began his long trip down the river.

….

It took him a while but he managed to reach the city. He looked around for any signs of green under the ice. Seeing nothing he continued to walk down the side of the river. He would be so mad if he came all this way for nothing. It was not hard for Lukas to show his anger anyway.

Lukas walked until he came across a small bridge. He looked down at the water and saw green hidden under the ice.

_Gotcha_.

He scrambled over to ice and began to punch at it slowly. Seeing how his fist wasn't working he decided to (sadly) turn to one of Mathias' methods. He ran over to a tree and grabbed a large, thick stick, and began to pound the ice with it. Slowly but surely, the ice cracked and water rippled from the impact of the branch.

Lukas smiled at his success. Thankfully a few water lilies were alive, so he grabbed the ones he could and stuffed them into his pocket.

Lukas couldn't believe it went this easy this time. Usually he'd have to pound on the ice forever, an hour even. This time it just broke easily, and he actually found a few water lillies this time. Usually he only found one or two, or sometimes none at all.

Lukas sighed as he prepared for his trip back down the river. He was stopped by the sound of murmuring voices.

He turned to the bridge. The voice were coming from under the bridge.

Ghosts? No. These voices were from living beings. They sounded high pitched too.

Were those children?

Lukas' curiosity was at its peak. He had to see who was under the bridge. Slowly he crept to the bridge and walked across. When he was at the top he bent over the side a little to see if he could see them.

He saw nothing.

He crept to the stairs and slowly walked down. When he reached the bottom he turned and looked around the corner to see who it was. His eye's widened. He couldn't believe what he saw.

Children. A group of children.

What were they doing here? And….and was that child's head bleeding?!

Why weren't they doing anything about it?!

Lukas immediately felt angered by their neglect to heal their friend's wounds. Then again, they probably had no idea how to heal a wound. Lukas sighed. _I guess I can offer them my help._

Lukas stepped out into the open to let all of the children see him. "Excuse me?"

All of the children turned around and looked at him, their eyes widened. They all immediately took a step back, obviously nervous by his presence.

"Who are you?" the blonde one snarled.

Lukas narrowed his eyes. Apparently they didn't welcome his presence.

Lukas sighed. "My name is Lukas. I was taking a walk and gathering herbs when I heard you all under the bridge. I was curious so I came over and now here I am."

"Oh yeah? Go back where you came from. We don't need other children from other places talking to us or getting us in trouble." The blonde one sneered.

Lukas narrowed his eyes. Was he trying to scare him? It wasn't working. Nothing ever really scared him.

"No hang on, Ludwig. Give him a minute to explain a little more." A dreary voice said softly.

Lukas looked up. The kid with the injury was looking at him with piercing red eyes. Red eyes? He had never seen those before. Lukas held his gaze, and for a few minutes there was silence.

The silence was broken by a blackbird, who cawed and flew into the sky. One of its feathers dropped into the water where Lukas had broken the ice.

"I know we just met, but I can help you."

"Wha-?"

"Are you orphans too?"

Lukas noticed each of the children flinch.

_So they are orphans._

"You're an orphan too?"

Lukas turned to the new voice. A small child with dark black hair and a cowlick was looking at him nervously.

"Yes, I am." He answered.

"You there," Lukas pointed to the injured child, "I can help you."

The child with the red eyes flinched for a moment, then looked at him sternly. "How?"

"I have experience with medicine. I can heal your wound."

"I don't know…."

"If you don't heal that wound you'll bleed to death."

The injured child shivered. The other children's eyes widened with shock. Lukas smiled.

_Good. Now they'll listen to me._

"Give us a minute to discuss this." The blonde one ordered.

"Of course."

The children huddled a little while, but they clearly weren't good at whispering. Lukas could hear them perfectly.

"Should we listen to him?"

"That's for East to decide."

"What if he's lying, mon ami?"

"What would he have to gain by lying?"

"True."

Lukas chuckled at their pointless whispering. Eventually they all turned around and faced him.  
>The one with the red eyes spoke up:<p>

"Very well. We trust you Lukas," he paused and shivered for a moment, the pain from his injury engulfing him, "If you can heal my wound we'll go."

"Wonderful. Follow me."

"There is shelter where you speak of, ja?" the blonde asked.

"Of course." Lukas nodded ahead and they all began to follow him. The blonde one was still looking at him unsurely. Lukas sighed and realized it would take a long time before this kid grew to trust him.

"What are your names, anyway?" Lukas asked.

"I'm Elizabeth."

"I'm Rodrich."

"I'm Francis."

"I'm_ Lovino_."

"I'm Antonio!"

"I'm Ludwig…."

"And I'm Gilbert." The red eyed child ended the roll call.

Lukas narrowed his eyes. "I assume you lead your little posse?"

"I do." Gilbert replied. Gilbert suddenly stumbled forward a little bit. His injury was making him very delirious.

"Bruder!" Ludwig and the others ran over to help him up. Lukas pushed them away and studied the Prussian's head injury. He shuddered when he saw the damage.

"He's lost a lot of blood," he murmured, "But if we make it back to my home in time I can save him."

"Are you saying he's close to death?!" Ludwig shouted.

"Yes, but I can save him! And please don't shout! You're driving me insane." Lukas snarled. Ludwig flinched but returned a glare.

"I need two people to help him walk. If he walks alone anymore he'll just keep falling and that will slow us down. The slower we go the slower he gets to having his life saved." Lukas explained.

He saw Ludwig shiver. He seemed to be more worried then any of them. Why?  
>He turned to the girl. She looked nervous too. <p>

"We'll carry him." Francis offered. "Come Antonio, grab his left arm and I'll grab his right arm."

"Right."

Lukas smiled as he watched the two help their friend up and carry him on their shoulders. They really cared about each other, and worked in a team. It reminded him of him and his friends.

It was also amazing how they all respected Gilbert as their leader. He seemed a little dense but also a little smart. Interesting combination. Lukas also couldn't stop wondering about the red eyes. He'd _never_ seen that before. He shrugged it off and continued to lead the way down the river.

They walked through the cold snow for a while when it seemed like the wind was staring to pick up. The blizzard which had turned into light snow was now becoming a blizzard again.

_Shit. The blizzard Tino worried me about._ Lukas thought.

The wind blew hard in his face, along with the snow. It blinded him and he could barely hear anything over the roaring wind. He struggled to continue forward. The more they all lagged behind, the less time he had to heal Gilbert's wound.

He turned to the others, who looked like they were having a really hard time keeping up in the snow. Especially Rodrich, who looked like he was going to fly away any minute.

"I know it's hard, but keep up! Think of your friend!" he called. The children thankfully heard him and began to pick up their pace. Lukas turned and continued to lead the way down the river, hoping they would get home soon.

….

Arthur shook a little. Even though they were inside and beside a fire, it was still cold. He turned to Emil:

"Is Lukas usually out this long?"

"Yes."

"I hope he's alright."

"He is."

_I hope your right_, Arthur looked at the door worriedly. He was slowly hoping that Lukas would step through the door any minute. He looked around the room. Alfred had gone off with Mathias, Matthew and Feliciano to play a game of cards, while Kaoru and Kiku had joined Yao in guarding Lukas' herbs.

What did they love about those herbs so much?

Suddenly, the door began to creak open, and snow began to fall into the room, followed by cold wind. Arthur shivered from the cold.

"Lukas! Your back!" Tino cheered. Arthur sighed with relief. _Thank god he's alright…._

"Everyone, I have an announcement." Lukas called. Everyone had turned immediately to him and stared, waiting for his announcement.

"Announcement?" Berwald repeated. "What is it?"

"I found some children by the city. One of them is injured badly, so I invited them back here so I can heal his wound."

"Oh, Lukas! That's very sweet of you!" Tino commented. Lukas turned away with a blush.

"Great. Apparently now our house is a home for orphans everywhere." Berwald snarled.  
>Lukas turned to him with a glare. "They're not staying. I'm just going to heal their leader's wound and that's it."<p>

They had a leader?

"A leader huh? And they better leave when you're done with them. That's what we thought about these guys and their still here."

Arthur felt his heart break. They didn't want them here? Arthur realized that Tino did only offer them food that night, not shelter. Arthur turned away sadly.

_Maybe we should leave soon…._

"What?! Berwald don't say that! They're nice and I'm sure these guys will be!" Tino said. "Come on, let them in Lukas!"

Berwald looked away. "Whatever."

Lukas nodded and turned outside. "Come on in!" he called. He stepped in and Arthur turned to the door curiously.

Who are these kids?

Arthur's stomach dropped when he realized who it was. Stepping through the door was his old orphanage bully Gilbert, along with Antonio, Ludwig, Elizabeth, Rodrich, Lovino….and Francis.

OH GOD FRANCIS.

Arthur's green eyes widened. He turned to his friends who were shivering.

"Artie!" Alfred ran behind a shivering Arthur. "Don't let him punch me!"

"Stay away!" Yao yelled. "Don't come near us!"

Ludwig looked around, and his blue eyes widened. "Y-You guys?"

"L-Lovino?" Feliciano shivered. "A-And Ludwig?"

Ludwig turned to Feli and his eyes widened. He shivered for a moment then turned away with a blush.

Mathias and his friends were staring at Arthur and his friends confusingly. "What's wrong? You know these guys?" Mathias asked curiously.

Arthur opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by Alfred:

"Yeah we do! They bullied us, and tormented us at the orphanage! Well, at least some of them did." Alfred shivered from the gaze of Francis and Antonio.

Arthur's gaze fell to Gilbert. Was he _bleeding?_

"So what happened to _you_~aru?" Yao sneered at Gilbert, who was looking at the floor, blood dripping from his head.

"Bullies?" Tino interrupted, "I don't like bullies. We would kick you out if not for your injured friend."

"Agreed." Berwald snarled.

"Whatever." Lukas snarled. "Move all of you. And you guys," he pointed to Francis and Antonio, "bring your friend over here to my pile of herbs so I can heal his wound. Yao, Kaoru, Kiku, you can move now."

"With pleasure," Yao sneered as he scrambled away with Kaoru and Kiku following behind him.

Francis and Antonio followed Lukas to the corner, dragging an injured Gilbert with them. They layed him down and Lukas immediately began to work on his head. "Go away," he ordered the two, "I need absolute quiet and space to work."

The other two nodded and walked back to Ludwig and the others. Arthur was still in shock. He and the others just stared at each other awkwardly.

The awkward tensions were rising. They stared at each other for what seemed like forever until Tino finally spoke:

"Well, why don't you all come sit around the fire then? You can get warm."

"Thank you." Ludwig answered. The little group gathered around the fire. Unfortunately, Ludwig had sat himself next to Arthur, and Francis sat on his other side.

_Why? For god's sakes why?!_

"So, you all escaped here." Ludwig mumbled. "Interesting."

Arthur shuddered. _Awkward…._

"So how about him?" Yao sneered, turning to Gilbert, "He hasn't said anything this whole time, and he's the biggest bully out of you three!" He turned back to Francis and Antonio. The two looked away sheepishly. Yao smirked, realizing he had them cornered in a state of guilt.

"He's unconscious," Antonio murmured quietly, "He's hurt that bad…."

"Wi. He is." Francis agreed.

Arthur turned to Ludwig, "You must be worried the most. He is your brother after all."

"Ja, I am."

"Oh Lovino! Ludwig! It's so good to see you! I missed you!" Feli cried, pulling them into a hug.

"LET ME GO YOU BASTARD!"

"UNHAND ME, FELICIANO!"

"Ve~! Sorry!" he cried happily, dropping them. Ludwig and Lovino sat up and Feli sat between them, making Ludwig move closer to Arthur. "I'm glad to see you too." Ludwig murmured.

"Yeah me too you bastard," Lovino grumbled.

"Ve~!" Feli cried happily.

Arthur sighed. This was going to be a long night.

**Author's note!**

**Another long chapter. If anyone's wondering why I'm updating this story so much recently is because its Christmas break and I want to get as much of this story done as I can. Free time means time to update my story I guess XD**

**Anyway see you in the next chapter :3**

**Tails**


	12. Forgiveness

Chapter 12

"So how did you escape?" Arthur asked Ludwig curiously. "The same way we did?"

"Nein," Ludwig replied, "We used the basement door."

Arthur and Alfred's eyes widened. "Amazing. Scott told me he was going to try escaping down there. I guess he never did it….however you got away. Why didn't you go the way we did?"

"Once you left the windows were ordered to be closed and locked forever, in fear of others trying to escape."

"Oh."

Everything went quiet. Arthur didn't know if he should ask, but he couldn't help it. He turned to Antonio and Francis, and blurted out the question:

"Why did you guys bully us?!"

The awkward silence began as Antonio and Francis shivered. Arthur didn't know it, but he looked so angry it was actually frightening them.

"Yeah, why?!" Alfred piped in.  
>"I'd like to know too~aru."<p>

Kaoru and Kiku nodded in agreement, and Feliciano looked away nervously. Antonio turned to Elizabeth shaking with fear: "It was her fault!"

"Me?! Why me?!" she shouted. Arthur couldn't believe this? _Her?_ But _why?_ It made no sense.  
>"Wi. It's your fault. You bully Gilbert, and he takes out his pain from you on others." Francis confessed. <p>

"Then why did you join him?" Arthur asked.

Francis looked away, shaking. He didn't answer for at least a minute, but he finally spoke:  
>"We had too. He's our good friend. We've all been friends for a while, and after seeing him get bullied, we had to help him and defend him, and be by his side. Wouldn't you do that for your friends? You have before." Francis nodded to Yao.<p>

Yao looked away. He was blushing with embarrassment. "At least I don't take my pain out on others." He sneered.

"Why do you bully him?" Arthur turned to Elizabeth.

"Because he bullies Rodrich! So since Rodrich can't protect himself," Rodrich sadly looked away, "I had to protect him! He's my good friend!"

"So you beat up Gilbert?" Arthur asked. He remembered when he went to meet Scott downstairs the day he escaped. When he had passed a room, he saw Gilbert beating up Rodrich, and Elizabeth came in to save him. He remembered seeing her beat him up, but he didn't stay for the whole fight. He left because he feared if he had been late to see Scott, Scott would kill him for being late later. 

Elizabeth looked away. "Yes. I also call him freak, and other names because….well…."  
>"Because of his eyes." Francis finished for her. She turned to him with sad green eyes. She was obviously embarrassed to say why, and she nodded thankfully to him for finishing for her.<p>

Francis returned a nod.

Arthur turned to Rodrich, "Why does he bully you the most?" he asked.

Rodrich sighed. "I don't know. You'd have to ask him that."

Now that made Arthur pissed. He didn't even know _why?!_ Did Gilbert just do it for fun?!  
>"Ludwig, if you knew all of this, why didn't you stop him?! He's your brother for god's sake!" Arthur snarled.<p>

Ludwig turned away. "I did tell him to stop. I knew he was bullied, and I told him there were better ways to deal with his pain then beat up others. He didn't listen. I couldn't hurt him to make him stop. He's my brother. I didn't know what to do, so I stopped trying."

Arthur sighed. What was happening? They were enemies, and now their becoming _friends?_ Then again, Gilbert hadn't woken up yet. Maybe when he woke up, this now friendly reunion would turn hostile.

"W- we're sorry," Antonio murmured. Arthur and the others turned. Did Antonio just apologize? Then again, he was a gentle soul. Arthur knew the only reason he bullied them was to help Gilbert overcome his own pain.

"Wi. We only did it to help Gilbert, as we said before. We're sorry."

Alfred turned to Arthur. "What do you think? Should we forgive them?"

Arthur thought for a moment. After everything they did, _should_ the forgive them? They beat them and all that, so was it worth it? Arthur sighed. The explanation had been given, so maybe they could end the fight once and for all.

"Maybe we should." He said.

"Are you sure?" Kiku asked, "They've hurt us before. What if they turn against us?"

"Yeah. It doesn't sound safe." Kaoru agreed. Arthur turned to Matthew and Yao, who were still giving unsure glances to the duo. Feliciano moved closer to Lovino, who in return moved closer to Feli out of fear for the answer.

"Yes." Arthur began, "Everyone deserves a second chance." He turned to Gilbert, who was still unconscious beside Lukas, "Even Gilbert."

Ludwig gave the British child wide blue eyes. He forgave them so easily. But why? After everything his brother and his friends did to them, he forgave them. Ludwig sighed. The British child must have lead this group out of the orphanage, because he had a good heart, and was also smart and wise.

Francis and Antonio shed a few tears of guilt. They also couldn't believe he forgave them after everything they did to them. It made them feel terrible and ridiculous.

"Heh, look their crying." Yao sneered. "That's a first I didn't know they even had feelings~aru."

Arthur glared at him. "We've forgiven them. _Haven't we?_"

Yao turned. "It will take me a while to trust them~aru."

Arthur sighed. He couldn't judge Yao for that. He was still a little nervous around them too, and trusting them would be hard, especially since Gilbert has heard none of this.

"Why didn't you defend yourself from Gilbert, by the way?" he turned to Rodrich, who in return shivered behind Elizabeth's back. "I-I didn't want to hurt anyone. I didn't…."

"It's ok, I understand." Arthur smiled. Rodrich nodded with a smile.

"Thank you."

Arthur nodded. After that, everyone began to talk normally, regular conversations.

"So fratello, Antonio, what was it like to escape?"

"It was amazing, mi amigo! The outside world has so much!"

"So mon ami, how's it been?"

"Ok. I had an injury, but Lukas saved me! And he'll do a great job saving Gilbert no doubt."

Arthur smiled. Everything was going fine. Until he remembered what Berwald said:

_And they better leave when you're done with them. That's what we thought about these guys and their still here._

He looked down sadly, his green eyes shaking. He realized how much trouble they were causing Tino and his friends. They had come into their home after only being offered food, and stayed. And now more kids had come in. Intruding. Arthur sighed. They needed to leave soon. They had overstayed their welcome.

"Arthur, how long have you been here with your friends? How did you find this place?"

Arthur turned to Ludwig. He sighed and began to give the nice long story on how they escaped down the river and how they met Tino and Berwald. He also told of how Matthew had hurt his arm and Tino had offered to take them to his home for Lukas to fix it. And since then they were here….though they were never asked to stay.

"Ah. I see."

"Yeah."

Arthur and Ludwig turned to their group of friends and continued talking.

….

"Well, I fixed up your friend. He's fine now." Lukas announced walking over to the group who sat beside the fire.

"Thank you." Ludwig breathed, "Thank you."

The others nodded their thanks.

"You're welcome."

Yao turned to Gilbert. "He's still passed out huh?"

"Oh no he's awake." Lukas said, "He's just shy."

"_Shy?_" Yao sneered, "Coward. Can't even stand up to his old victims~aru."

"Shush Yao!" Arthur ordered. Yao just shrugged. Arthur noticed Ludwig jump up and run to his brother, followed by Francis and Antonio. They began talking and he could hear Ludwig giving relieved sobs.

It reminded Arthur of when Matthew had been saved after his hurt arm. They had been so happy to see he was alright.

"Don't be so clumsy next time," Everyone turned to Elizabeth, who's statement was directed at Gilbert, "and watch where you're going. If Francis and Antonio hadn't found you you would've died."

Arthur saw Gilbert flinch but say nothing. She continued:

"And you better thank Lukas at least five times for saving your life."

"Oh he did." Lukas said.

Gilbert still said nothing. Arthur could understand how he was feeling. Guilty, nervous, ashamed. Surrounded by his old victims, who now knew why he bullied them.

"It's getting late," Mathis looked at the window, which now showed a blackening sky, "Should we run for dinner?"

"Yeah." Tino stood up, "Emil, why don't you come tonight?"

"Sure." Emil stood up and walked out with Tino, Mathias, and Berwald. Arthur realized they might have to get more then they usually do, since there were more people now.

"Maybe you two should go with them, to help them." He turned to Yao and Kaoru, who nodded in agreement. They ran outside to catch up to the others.

"Dinner? Real food?" Francis asked. Arthur explained the French restaurant, and how they stole bread. Francis simply nodded and turned back to his friends.

"Idios mio. Real food. Sounds nice!" Antonio smiled. Arthur smiled, noticing that the Spaniards cheerful spirit was back.

….

"We're back!" Mathias walked in with the others, carrying more bread then usual.

"Oh wow! Lovi, look! Bread!" Antonio cheered running over to the pile of food. Lovino ran over and stared wide eyed at the bread. Arthur remembered how he felt when he first saw bread. Biting into it and eating it was an even more joyful experience.

"Eat now." Berwald ordered.

"With pleasure!" Toni cried. He bit into it, followed by bites from Lovino and Francis. Alfred looked at them. "They're crying." He said.

Indeed they were. "It's so good!" Francis cried. "Real food! I'm crying tears of joy!"

"Me too, mi amigo!"

"Shut up you bastards, I'm eating! But….I am also crying…."

Alfred padded over to Kaoru, who had dropped his bread to stare at the trio's little scene.  
>"You gonna finish that?" Alfred asked, staring at the bread hungrily.<p>

"_Yes."_ Kaoru sneered, pulling his bread away. _Glutton._

"Brother, come eat." Ludwig ordered. His brother didn't even flinch. He just sat there, turned away from everyone. He just moved his hand along a few herbs nervously.

"Brother come eat now. Or you'll starve."

He didn't move.

"EAST I ORDER YOU TO-"

"Calm down." Arthur said, "I got it."

Ludwig watched the British child move from his spot by the fire and walk over to his brother, who in return jumped to his presence.

"Here, Gilbert. Eat. I know you're nervous, and I can understand that. But we forgive you, so here." Arthur handed him bread. Gilbert shivered, his red eyes wide.

"B-But I hurt you! I did so many terrible things to you and your friends! And you're handing me _bread?!_ How can you forgive me?!"

Everyone turned to the little scene that was going on in the corner of the room. Arthur gave a swift glare to make them turn around, because that would only make the Prussian boy more nervous. They listened and turned around, but they still listened curiously on the conversation.

"I said we forgive you. Everything's been explained, so please just take it." He shook the bread in his hand for him to take it.

The Prussian boy stared at it for a moment, the turned around nervously. "I don't want it." The boy's stomach rumbled as if to retort, but that only made the boy shiver.

"Please. You're starving and I know it. Do it for your brother. He's been worried sick about you you know."

Gilbert turned to his brother, who turned to him. Gilbert turned around and thought for a moment. He immediately began to shiver and tear up.

He didn't even say anything. He just grabbed the bread and began to munch at it furiously.  
>Arthur couldn't help the smile that escaped him. He heard Ludwig sigh with relief.<p>

Gilbert finished his bread with a long sigh. "Real food.." he murmured. "That was good."

"Wasn't it?"

"I'm sorry.."

"Huh?"

"For everything. I'm sorry."

Arthur smiled. "Say no more. We already forgive you." And though Arthur thought he'd never get Gilbert to do it, Gilbert smiled.

"Now come on, let's sit with everyone around the fire. You must be could right?"

"Yeah…."

"The come. Your brother and friends are waiting for you."

And just like that, they returned to the fire, and began laughing along with the others in their conversations.

Yao however, did not approve. He talked, but never gazed at Gilbert for conversation. He would give him glares, but nothing else. Gilbert noticed and looked away sadly. He knew it would take a long time for Yao to trust him, because he bullied Yao a lot. He remembered the punch he gave Yao the day Yao escaped with his friends. The grudge must still be within him.

Arthur could tell too. It would take Yao a while for him to trust Gilbert, but Arthur understood. After being repeatedly punched by Gilbert, he could blame him.

Everything however went smoothly. Enemies were now friends, and the whole conversation was full of laughter.

**Author's note!**

**So now we've got forgiveness, but Yao still doesn't trust Gilbert. **

**Well I'm pretty proud of my plot honestly. And I'm proud of this story too. But there's still more to come XD**

**See you in the next chapter :3**

**Tails**


	13. Water

Chapter 13

Arthur woke up the next morning beside Alfred, who was still sleeping. Arthur sat up and stretched. It wasn't as cold as usual today, and that was a good sign.  
><em>I think spring is coming,<em> he thought. He looked out the window and saw a bright, shining sun that sent warm rays through the window. Arthur stood up and looked out the window. Bit by bit the snow was slowly melting. However among the bright sun were a few grey clouds, which looked like they promised snow. 

_Guess winter's not truly over yet_.

"Good morning."

Arthur turned to Gilbert, who was stretching his arms. "Good morning." Arthur replied.

Gilbert turned to the window. "It's nice outside."

"Yeah, but don't get your hopes up, there's a few grey clouds up there."

Gilbert sighed. "Where's spring? I only needed a day to figure out what winter is, and it's cold and harsh. We've seen spring out the window, but what does it _feel_ like?"

"I wouldn't know." Arthur looked away sadly. Spring did sound nice. He always wanted to go outside when he saw signs of spring from the orphanage window. But of course they wouldn't let them. At least spring was coming soon.

"Hey, get up Emil. Wer' goin' now." Arthur and Gilbert jumped to the sound of Berwald's deep voice behind them. He was kicking Emil softly to get him up, who in return slapped his foot.  
>"I'm <em>coming<em>." He snarled. He stood up and yawned. "Wake up Mathias."

"Hang on," Arthur interrupted. The Swedish and Icelandic child looked at him.  
>"Why don't my friends and I get the bread this time? I remember where to go and how to do it."<p>

Berwald narrowed his eyes. "Are y' sure?"

"Positive."

Berwald turned to Emil who shrugged. "I don't care if they do," he turned to Arthur, "However it's dangerous. I would be careful if I were you. The restaurant is busy in the morning and you'll have to be slick when you sneak in."

"I think I can manage. I'm good at sneaking around and spying." Arthur admitted. He was good sneaking around. He once spied on Gilbert at the orphanage to see why he bullied so many kids, but never got good information. They never noticed him spying on them anyway.

"Very well, go. But be very careful." Berwald warned.  
>Arthur nodded. <em>Who should I take with me?<em>

Alfred obviously for his immense strength. Maybe Yao, he's strong.

"I'll go." Gilbert offered. Arthur turned in shock. "Are you sure? You've just recovered from a serious injury."

"I'm not that weak." Gilbert smiled.

Arthur sighed. "Ok then. I'll wake up Alfred and Yao.."

"Oh we don't need them! You and I can do it alone!" Gilbert cheered fist pumping the air.  
>"No we can't! Didn't you hear them it's dangerous!" Arthur shouted, "The cooks will make <em>us<em> ingredients if they find us!" he paused to take a breath, "only two of us is not enough to carry that much bread anyway."

"Nonsense! Come on, I'm awesome and you're….you. So let's go!" and before Arthur could reply the Prussian child raced out the door laughing.

"Stop! Wait for me!" Arthur called running out the door. He ran through the lumpy snow on the ground, which was slowly being melted by the sun. Arthur saw Gilbert up ahead, but he couldn't gain on him. _Damn he's fast!_

Arthur eventually caught up to him and ran beside him. "Please stop running! I'm already tired!" Arthur cried stopping himself. Gilbert skidded to a stop and stared at the British child.  
>"Come on, it's not so hard!"<p>

"You didn't even think this through." Arthur panted, "We _need_ more people."

"Nonsense! Now shut up or the awesome one will run again."

Arthur sighed. Arguing with this child was pointless. He stood up and shivered from laying in the cold snow. "Ok, but please follow me. Unlike you, _I_ know where the restaurant is."

"Yeah yeah whatever." Gilbert pouted. Arthur sighed and turned to the right, which led closer to the river. They began to move down the river, towards the small town.

"Hey, this is the way back to the city. You're going the wrong way." Gilbert smirked.

"We're gonna turn back to the left soon. Apparently you didn't see it."

"See what?"

"That hornet's nest in the tree there. Hornet's fly around the area where their nest is constantly. Would you rather get stung or go a different route?"

"Ok jeez." Gilbert pouted. Arthur sighed. _He's not very cooperative. _

Suddenly, a loud rustle sounded from the bushes next to them. The children stopped and stared wide eyed at the bushes, which for a moment stopped shivering.

"Arthur…." Gilbert shivered.

"Shhhh…." Arthur silenced him. They waited a moment, and they rustled again. Before they had a chance to run, two large foxes appeared. Their fangs were dripping with drool and their eyes were angry looking. Their claws looked sharp and they bared their teeth into a snarl.

_Back for more, eh?_ Gilbert thought. His bravery immediately vanished when one of the foxes began to crawl towards him, biting the air to get closer to him.

Arthur shivered. He knew they needed to get out of here, fast. But how?! The fox had them completely cornered! Arthur's eyes widened. That was the fox's plan the whole time. To watch them move towards the river and corner them for an attack. One fox moved on the right toward Arthur, blocking the right exit to run, and the other fox moved on the right towards Gilbert, blocking the left exit to run. The river was behind them, and the fox's moved them backward an inch each second to jump on them.  
>Arthur realized he had no choice. He bunched his hand into a fist, getting ready to punch the fox in the face, but suddenly—<p>

"RUN! Run away!" Gilbert pushed Arthur out of the way, but to a very bad spot. Arthur slid deep into the middle of the frozen river. He shook and his eyes widened when he realized where he was. He couldn't move. He was frozen in place out of fear.

Arthur looked at the bank. It was far, but he could see Gilbert swiftly punch both fox's in the face. The fox's shivered with fear and ran off, tails between their legs.  
>He saw Gilbert fist pump the air and cheer: "Yes! I'm awesome! I did it!" he jumped up and down in victory. He turned to Arthur, "Ok you can walk back now!"<p>

_Walk _back? Arthur looked at the ice. It was _very _thin, probably being melted by the hot sun. Arthur shivered. He couldn't move and he immediately felt tears of fear rush down his face. He knew one move and the ice would break, and he would be shrouded in water.

_I can't swim…._

"Arthur, come on! If the ice breaks you can swim back!"

"I….I…." Arthur couldn't respond. Before he could even _try_ to reply again, he felt the ice break beneath him, and he fell into deep, dark water. Arthur felt himself sink. Sink. Farther and farther he went from the crack in the ice he made. The ice had broken away from his weight. Arthur tried to move his arms, but that just made him sink further. He felt his breath beginning to weaken, and he could see his tears bubble to the surface.  
><em>I….I'm going to die….<em> He thought dreadfully. Arthur closed his eyes, ready to accept his fate. 

Suddenly, he felt hands grab his black cloak, and pull him upward. Arthur's eyes flew open as he saw Gilbert struggling to swim himself and Arthur back to the surface.  
><em>Gilbert?!<em> Arthur was shocked to see the Prussian child saving him. He had immense bravery.

Gilbert struggled for at least a minute, but managed to pull himself and Arthur back onto the ice. Gilbert coughed up water, and Arthur coughed up what he thought was half the river. He felt like he swallowed half the river.

"Hang on." Gilbert panted. He dragged Arthur to shore, and there they fell on the bank, panting and coughing from exhaustion. After a few minutes, Gilbert stood up and turned to Arthur: "Are you ok?"

He expected Arthur to thank him, but the British child turned to him with furious green eyes.  
>"Are you crazy?! Pushing <em>anyone<em> on to the ice of a river is _extremely_ dangerous! On the other hand, I CAN'T SWIM!"

"I-I'm sorry! I didn't know…."

"NO! The ice was obviously thin from the coming spring! Couldn't you tell it was thin?! The sun was out all morning melting it! Even if it was thick that's still something you should never do! That was such a stupid resort to trying to save me, YOU IDIOT!" he paused to take a breath, "I'm thankful to you for saving my life, but next time, _think_ your decision through!"

Arthur stopped. Gilbert was shaking immensely. Arthur suddenly realized he may have gone too far. 

Gilbert looked own, his red eyes shaking. _I failed. I failed _twice.

"I-I'm sorry." Arthur began, "I didn't mean to overreact. It's just, I was scared. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled. And I'm very thankful to you for saving my life. Thank you." 

Gilbert shook his head. "No…."

"What? I said I'm sorry! Please forgive me!" Arthur begged.

"No, it's not you. I forgive you," Gilbert began, "But….that's _twice_ I've failed outside the orphanage. _Twice_. First, I almost got myself killed, then, I almost got_ you_ killed. I've also failed in my past. I can't do anything right." The Prussian boy didn't even try to hide his tears.

Arthur instantly felt bad. He stood up and walked to his new friend, and he put his hand on his shoulder.

"Don't say that," he began, "You're a good person, Gilbert. Sure you may have bullied and you've been bullied before, but I can see you've changed. It's ok, trust me. I'm happy to call you my new friend. And you're awesome remember?" Arthur smiled. 

Gilbert turned to him. "I don't know…."

"Look, we all make mistakes,"_ Some more then others…._ "But you saved me from drowning in a deep river! The river could've taken you down with me! You're not a failure Gilbert, you're a hero."

Gilbert turned to him, he uttered a small smile. "You think so?"

"I know so. Alfred would be jealous you committed a more courageous act then he has in his life. You know he calls himself a hero all the time."

"Hah hah yeah." Gilbert laughed softly. "Thanks Arthur. Again, I'm sorry I pushed you onto the ice. I was just trying to protect you."

"No apologies needed. Come on, now that we've been stricken with water in our chests, maybe we should return to the shed and let Berwald and his friends get the food."

"I guess so." Gilbert sighed. _Finally_ the Prussian child listened to him.

Arthur helped his friend up, and slowly they helped each other walk back to the shed.  
>"Did you see the way I punched those foxes? It was awesome!" Gilbert laughed.<p>

Arthur smiled. He was happy his new friend's happy spirit was back.  
>"Yeah I saw it. It was pretty cool."<p>

"Not cool, awesome! Like me!"

"Yeah yeah."

The continued to help each other walk back, laughing along the way.

….

"So you two almost died after only being outside for less then five minutes? What a shame." Berwald shook his head. Arthur looked away with a blush.

"We'll get the food. Come on Emil."

"Coming."

The Swedish and Icelandic child walked out of the shed and made their way to the town. Arthur turned to everyone else and sighed. Thankfully while they were gone only Lukas had woken up. Lukas sorted out his herbs in the corner, and Gilbert gave a sneeze.

"Don't catch a cold." Arthur smiled.

"Yes, _please_ don't catch a cold. I had enough pain healing your wound and I don't want to heal your sickness if you catch something. I'm too tired." Lukas snarled.

Gilbert gave the Norwegian child a glare. "Unawesome brat."

"I _heard _that."

Gilbert shivered. Arthur chuckled at the little scene the two played out.  
>"Uh, Arthur?" Gilbert quivered.<p>

"Yes?" Arthur turned to the quivering child.

"Um, please don't tell my bruder about what happened. I fear he might think I'm irresponsible and be mad at me for putting you in danger. He might yell at me and I don't want to hear his insults."

Ludwig _insulted _him to teach him lessons? Arthur shook his head. _That's a foolish way to teach someone a lesson_. When Alfred did stupid things or misbehaved Arthur usually talked to him about it or scolded him. And yes, sometimes he'd sit on him. He actually thought that was funny.

"I won't tell, I promise."

"And don't tell anyone else please. Especially Yao." Arthur remembered how Yao still had little trust in Gilbert. Arthur nodded, "I won't tell anyone else."

"Thanks." Gilbert began, "I'm actually amazed you still trust me and accept me as a friend after what I did. Again I'm sorry."

"Apology accepted already." Arthur smirked. "And I apologize too, for yelling."

"Apology already accepted." Gilbert smiled.

….

After a while, their clothes thankfully dried, hiding any evidence of them getting wet and their struggle in the river. Berwald and Emil had come back with bread, and everyone had woken up to eat.

Arthur smiled. The day may have started out crazy, but who knows what the rest of the day will bring? He looked outside at the shining sun. The sun promised a good day, and Arthur smiled. The grey clouds however, made him nervous. He thought of more snow that could fall, and he feared a blizzard. Arthur shook the thought away, and turned to the shining sun again. He smiled at the warm rays it gave off. He turned to everyone else and laughed with them in their conversation.

**Author's note!**

**I'm pretty proud of this chapter actually. I'm proud of the suspense I added with the river scene. I hope everyone got a little suspenseful out of that XD  
><strong> 

**See you in the next chapter :3**

**Tails**


	14. Fire

Chapter 14

It was later in the day. And as Arthur feared, the bright sun had been swallowed up by the dark grey clouds. _So much for a perfect day._

"Hey Artie, it's getting dark super early today! Is that bad?" Alfred asked.  
>Arthur turned to his friend, "No, it's not getting dark, the storm clouds are making it look dark."<br>"Oh, ok."

Arthur looked back at the window. The grey clouds looked menacing and threatening. Arthur didn't know what was scarier. The foxes he and Gilbert had come across earlier, or the clouds that looked like they could drop a tornado any minute.

"So, you use poppy seeds to help you sleep?"

Arthur turned to the corner. Yao was asking Lukas various questions about his herbs and medicines, and Lukas looked like he didn't mind teaching him. Arthur chuckled at Yao's big brown eyes that stared with wonder.

"Yes, you use these to put people to sleep. And marigold for treating colds. Drip the juice from the flower into your patient's mouth is what I mean." Lukas explained.

"Wow~aru."

Arthur realized Yao wanted to learn about medicine. Impressive.

Arthur padded over to Lukas and Yao, "How do you know so much about medicine?" he asked Lukas.

Lukas shrugged. "Well, my parents were doctors, so I learned a lot about what herbs make medicine."

Arthur's eyes widened. "Wait, you _knew_ your parents?"  
>Yao also looked wide eyed at the Norwegian child in shock.<p>

Lukas looked away. "Yes, but, I ran away."

"Why?"

"They kept forcing me to do what they wanted. I wanted to be a doctor like them, but they said everyone must be something different. I know it sounds ridiculous right? So I ran away. I-I hope to become a doctor one day." Lukas looked to the floor sadly.

Arthur took a minute to gather the whole story through his head. He sighed: "I'm sure you'll be a great doctor one day." He smiled.

"Yeah~aru. You're a big inspiration to me."

Lukas turned to them and smiled, "Thanks."

Arthur smiled and turned back to the others. He noticed Kiku was looking out the window, tapping his foot impatiently. Arthur walked over to him and tapped his shoulder, making him jump.

"Woah, it's just me!" Arthur smiled nervously, "What are you looking at? Or thinking about?"  
>Kiku turned away nervously. "Nothing…."<p>

"Are you thinking about that girl?"

Kiku turned to him with wide brown eyes. "N-no!"

Arthur smiled. "It's ok, Kiku. I'm sure you'll see her again soon. Maybe we'll visit them next time we go out with Berwald to get bread."  
>Kiku turned with a nervous smile, "Maybe…."<p>

Arthur smiled and turned back to the fire where all of his friends were. He saw Gilbert stand up from his spot on the floor and pad over to Elizabeth. Arthur shivered.  
><em>I really hope he doesn't do or say anything stupid.<em> He thought nervously.

No. Actually, he did the opposite of what Arthur expected him to do. Gilbert went over and tapped Elizabeth on the shoulder, and in return she jumped and turned to him with a glare.

"Hey, Liz!" he smiled, "What's up?"

"Nothing," she snarled, "Now please go away."

"Why? I just said hi." He turned away nervously for a minute, then turned back with a smile, "You wanna hang out outside for a little bit?" he asked hopefully.

Arthur shivered. The look on Elizabeth's face did not look promising.

"Wow. It looks like it's about to rain any minute and you want to go _outside_? You really are dumb."

"No! I meant we can hang out outside _until_ it starts to rain."

"Yeah, whatever. I'm hanging out with Rodrich right now, so please."

Gilbert looked down sadly. He turned to walk away, but not before shooting a jealous glare at Rodrich, who in return shivered.

Arthur sympathized the poor Prussian as he walked to the corner of the room and sat himself there, looking defeated.  
>"I'll be right back." Arthur told Kiku, who gave a nod in response.<br>Arthur padded to Gilbert, who noticed him and shivered: "Leave me alone."

"So that's why you don't like Rodrich."

"Huh?"

"You're jealous." Arthur smiled, "And you like Elizabeth."

Gilbert jumped up and glared at him, his face a bright red. "N-No! He's just _really_ stupid! That's why I hate him!" he turned around and shivered, "And Liz hates me anyway."

"Not true!" Arthur walked over next to him, "I'm sure she's just holding a grudge from the times you bullied Rodrich. Give her time, and she'll eventually trust you and forgive you, just like Yao."

Gilbert shivered. "You think so?"

"I know so." Arthur stopped and laughed. "Who knew this whole time you we're jealous of Rodrich, so you punched him and bullied him out of jealousy! I wish you only knew that would obviously make your crush mad at you, since Rodrich is her good friend!"

Gilbert glared at him, "I_ get it._" He sneered.

Arthur smiled. "Try not to feel so down," he said placing his hand on Gilbert's shoulder, "Give it time like I said, and Liz will trust you."

Gilbert sighed, "I hope so."

Arthur smiled and turned to Kiku who was still at the window. He padded back to his Japanese friend. He felt like Gilbert needed some alone time.

….

Later on in the evening, the sky looked very dark from both the storm clouds and incoming nighttime. Arthur stared out the window nervously. _What kind of storm is coming? A tornado?_ The thought of a terrible wind funnel raging through the forest picking up everything in it's path made Arthur shiver. He already experienced almost drowning, no more torture please.

Suddenly, a large flash shown through the window, followed by a rumble of thunder. Arthur and Kiku raced from the window to the middle of the room with their friends, shivering.  
>"Arthur, I'm scared." Alfred jumped behind Arthur's back, shivering.<p>

Arthur smiled. "There's nothing to be scared of, it's just thunder."

"I agree. I don't like thunder either." Tino said grabbing Berwald's black cloak for comfort. Berwald returned a blush.  
>Another flash of light came from the sky, but this time, brighter and sharper. Before the even louder rumble of thunder, they heard a slight crash. It came right before the lightning disappeared.<p>

_What was that?_ Arthur thought nervously.

"What was that?" Alfred shook behind Arthur.  
>"I-I don't know. The thunder was louder that time, but…." Arthur turned to everyone else, "Did anyone else hear that?"<p>

They all nodded.

"The second clap of thunder was louder then the first one. That's the sign of a bad storm." Berwald commented. He was right. Immediately rain began to pour down from the sky. _Heavy_ rain. Lightning and thunder continued as nighttime came, and the rain pounded hard against the window and roof.

For a while they all sat in the middle of the room conversing, until….

Mathias sniffed the air, "Is that smoke?"

Arthur and the others sniffed the air. His eyes widened. It _was_ smoke.

"It's getting hard to breath," Kaoru coughed, "That's not smoke from our little fire. That's something else."

"Yeah, I think it's coming from outside." Matthew shivered. 

Francis walked to the door and opened it. The rain had stopped thankfully, but the smell of smoke grew worse when he opened the door, making everyone cough.

Francis' eyes widened. Far away in the distance he could see bright, orange flames followed by a black cloud of smoke. He shivered when he realized what was happening.

"F-FIRE!" he screeched.

"WHAT?!"

"I SAID FIRE! WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE, FAST!"

He didn't need to say it twice. All of the children raced out the door with fear. While running, Arthur realized that the loud crash before must've been the lightning hitting a tree, triggering the fire.  
>"WHERE DO WE GO?!" Alfred screeched.<p>

"Wait! Where's Lukas?!" Yao shouted. Everyone looked around. The Norwegian child was nowhere to be seen. Arthur saw Yao race back to the small shed and scream inside:  
>"LUKAS! WE NEED TO LEAVE, NOW!"<p>

"I CAN'T YET!" Lukas screeched, "I NEED TO GATHER SOME HERBS TO TAKE IF SOMEONE GETS INJURED! WITHOUT THEM, WE'RE DEAD!"

Arthur stared in amazement as Yao ran inside. He returned outside with Lukas in his arms, who was struggling to escape his grasp.

"No! Let me go!"

"NO! WE HAVE TO LEAVE BEFORE THE FOREST FIRE SPREADS HERE~ARU!"

He plopped Lukas down who immediately tried to race back inside, but was swiftly stopped by Berwald. He gazed at the Swedish child, who's blue eyes burned furiously.

"THE HERBS OR YOUR LIFE. YOUR CHOICE." He snarled.

Lukas Gulped and returned to the small group the children made.  
>"Where do we go?!" Tino cried, muffling a cough.<p>

_If the fire doesn't kill us the smoke will,_ Arthur thought dreadfully. 

"HELP!"

A loud screech came from deeper in the woods. The children turned to see two figures running towards them. They were struggling to run, and they were coughing as they ran, and the flames that engulfed the distance made them run faster.

"HELP US!"

"Yong soo-san! Mei Mei-san!" Kiku yowled. He was right. They two children who they had met a few days ago were running for their lives towards them, shrieking in terror. Arthur's eyes widened. He remembered Yong soo's shed was further straight, down deeper into the forest. That was closer to the fire. If Arthur didn't know better, they could've been burned alive if they had not run.

The children ran up to them, and Yong Soo fell to the floor. Arthur gasped when he saw small flames beginning to engulf Yong Soo's clothes. "HELP ME!" he screeched. His clothes had already caught fire a little bit, making Mei Mei screech.

Arthur, Alfred and Francis ran to the Korean child and immediately began patting his clothes to stop the fire. The Korean boy coughed a little bit of blood, but smiled his thanks:

"Thank you."

"No time for thanks yet." Berwald said, looking towards the fire in the distance, "It'll spread here soon, so we need to get out of here, FAST."

"Who are you?" Francis turned to Yong Soo and Mei Mei.  
>"They're friends we met a few days ago." Arthur responded, "Everyone this is Mei Mei and Yong Soo." He shouted.<p>

The others nodded and Arthur turned to Yong Soo and his sister, panting. "Now let's get out of here!"

The others nodded and Mei Mei helped her brother up, who was still weak from the smoke and fire that attacked his clothing.

"Everyone hold onto someone!" Berwald ordered, "Make sure your buddy doesn't fall behind! And if they do, you need to help them! Understand?!"

"Yes!"

"Good! Now let's go! Tino you come with me."

Tino nodded with a smile and grabbed Berwald's hand, who nervously returned a blush.  
>"Walk to the left! There's more forest down that way we can escape to!" Berwald called, running ahead. Immediately they all listened and followed him.<br>"Alfred, grab my hand!" Arthur ordered. The American child nodded and grabbed his hand nervously. As they ran, Arthur looked around and saw who was paired with who:

Antonio was with Lovino

Feliciano was with Ludwig

Liz was with Rodrich (Of course)

Kaoru was with Yao

Yong Soo was with Mei Mei

Kiku was with Matthew

Lukas was with Emil

Francis was with Mathias

And Berwald had Tino.

Wait, who the hell was with Gilbert?! _Where_ was Gilbert?! Arthur flinched when he saw his Prussian friend dash past him, alone.  
>Arthur felt bad. No one claimed him as his "buddy" to watch out for.<p>

"Be careful, there's a slope!" Berwald warned. They all climbed down softly, and continued to run. The smoke was killing them, and Arthur could hear his friends coughing. His eyes were tearing from the smoke, and he felt his breath begin to weaken.

He turned around and his green eyes widened with terror as he saw how fast the fire had spread. It wasn't too far behind them.

"Berwald!" Arthur called to the front.

Berwald turned and Arthur pointed to the fire, which seemed to be right on their heels.

Berwald snarled and turned to everyone: "Faster!" he dashed ahead with Tino, and in response everyone began to run a little faster.  
>But how long could they run for? The smoke was making them weaker. Arthur stopped when he felt Alfred's hand separate from his. He turned to see his friend on the floor, panting. The smoke was eating him alive.<p>

"GET UP ALFRED!" Arthur screamed through tears of fear. "NOW!"

"I CAN'T!" the boy screamed with a cough, "I-I feel too weak! You all go without me!"  
>Arthur would never do such a thing. "THIS IS NOT HOW A HERO WOULD ACT! HE WOULD HELP HIS FRIENDS IN A SITUATION LIKE THIS, AND RIGHT NOW, YOU'RE NOT HELPING!" Arthur stopped to cough, "ALFRED, COME ON! BE THE HERO YOU ALWAYS SAID YOU ARE!"<p>

Arthur gasped when he saw the flames draw closer.

"RUN!" Ludwig shouted at them, "GET OUT OF THERE!"

Thankfully, Alfred stood up. He panted softly and Arthur realized he was in bad shape. "Come on." He rested Alfred on his shoulders and began to run. He caught up with the others and flinched when he heard Mei Mei scream. Arthur looked up. The fire had spread to the trees and was eating the branches. Branches engulfed in flames began to fall to floor, almost hitting them.

"Be careful!" Berwald shouted, "Try to dodge them!"

_Easier said then done._ Arthur thought. He kept running, trying to avoid branches that fell. Branches with fire on them would only make the fire spread faster around the forest.

Suddenly Arthur heard a loud squeal. Elizabeth had tripped and was struggling to get up because of the smoke that engulfed her lungs. Arthur heard a loud rumble from the treetops, and almost screamed when he saw a burning branch fall towards Elizabeth.

"No!" Rodrich screeched.

"ELIZABETH!"

Another yowl came from the center where Liz lay, and Arthur noticed Liz go flying into a wall of rock. Someone saved her! But who?

Arthur turned and stared in horror as he saw Gilbert struggling under the huge burning branch. The branch had almost fallen on Elizabeth, but he pushed her out of the way. 

"HELP ME!" Gilbert screamed.

"BRUDER!" Ludwig rushed to the branch with Berwald behind him. They grabbed whatever part of the branch that wasn't entirely engulfed in flames and quickly threw it off of him. Arthur shivered as he saw the limp body of his friend laying on the ground. His clothes were burned a little and he looked extremely weak and hurt.

"Bruder! Answer me!" Ludwig shouted through tears. Arthur took Alfred's hand and raced over to the Prussian boy, who was shaking weakly.

"GET UP!" Arthur commanded. "THE AWESOME ONE CAN'T DIE HERE! HE HAS MORE TO LIVE FOR! GET UP!"

"STAND BRUDER, STAND!"

Elizabeth ran to Arthur's side, tears flying from her beautiful green eyes. "GET UP NOW! YOU'RE GONNA SAVE ME AND THEN DIE?! I DON'T THINK SO! GET UP SO WHEN WE GET OUT OF HERE I CAN THANK YOU PROPERLY! AND YOU REALIZE IF YOU DON'T GET UP SOON, WE'LL ALL DIE!"

She was right. The whole time they had been sitting here the flames were even closer now, making the smoke worse. Branches still fell from above too.

Just like that, Gilbert slowly stood up, as if Liz's voice gave him strength.  
>"Y-You're ok…." He smiled at Elizabeth, who's face blushed.<p>

"Yes but you're not! Rodrich come on!" She called the Austrian boy who immediately padded to her side. "We need to run _now_."

Arthur agreed. Ludwig helped his weak brother and they all caught up the others, who had raced further down the way.

It took time, but they eventually ran onto a dirt road, right next to….a farm?

They looked around. They all had no idea where they were. Suddenly, it began to rain again. The children cheered with joy. "The rain will put out the fire!" Tino cheered. They all danced in the rain for at least five minutes. Until they realized….

"Our-our shed….." Emil whimpered, "It-it's probably gone."

Berwald shivered. "The fire spread straight, following us, which means it reached our shed as well. It took the whole forest with it, and it will take time for new trees and plants to grow. But still," he turned to the burnt forest, "now we have no home."

Arthur could see the sadness that filled the Swedish child's eyes. Everyone else showed sadness in their eyes, and Arthur felt sadness pierce his own eyes. What would they do now? They had no home.

"Before we sort out _any_ sort of plans, I'd like to help the ones who are injured." Lukas interrupted Arthur's thoughts, "Let's get out of this small dirt road, and….and into that farm." Lukas pointed to the big, red building.

"Is that ok?" Alfred coughed. Arthur turned to his weak friend. His friend sounded unbelievably weak. Arthur turned to Lukas, "We need to find water, fast." Lukas nodded in return.

"Let's move towards the farm like I said. That's where we need to go to rest."

"But there are probably animals in there." Antonio murmured, "Surely they'll get spooked if we go in?"

"Quite possibly. But we need to take that chance." Lukas said, "The farm will have hay to lay on and it's a good place to rest. It might also give me time to look for herbs that may be growing around this farm. So come on, let's go."

They all turned to Berwald, who nodded in agreement. They all began to walk towards the farm, some carrying others. Arthur looked at Gilbert, who was still unconscious hanging onto Ludwig's shoulders. Arthur still had a weak Alfred on his shoulders, who also began to pass out. Yong Soo was able to walk now, but he would stumble from weakness, making Mei Mei grab him and help him walk. He turned to Elizabeth, who was staring at the ground with green eyes that smothered….guilt? She must've felt bad that Gilbert risked his life for her. And after all she said and did to him. Arthur sighed and looked forward. Hopefully, they can all take shelter in this farm without the owner of the farm catching them and getting mad.

**Author's note!**

**I think this chapter was really suspenseful. I'm enjoying the mass PruHun I've got going on here. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this suspenseful chapter, and don't be too nervous. I'm sure they'll all be fine XD**

**See you in the next chapter :3**

**Tails**


	15. The farm

Chapter 15

The children made their way to the farm. Arthur still had to carry Alfred on his shoulders, and Yong Soo was still struggling with Mei Mei. Gilbert was still unconscious, which worried Arthur even more. The Prussian child had pushed Elizabeth out of the way of a falling, burning branch, and had gotten himself crushed. Elizabeth still looked as guilty as ever, and Rodrich looked away, knowing he couldn't say anything to make her feel better.

Finally they made it to the doors of the farm. They all stopped and looked up.

"Aidios mio, it's so tall!" Antonio gasped. Arthur couldn't disagree with him on that. The giant red building was indeed huge.

"Now," Lukas began, "In order to not spook the animals, let's go in _quietly._ Open the doors slowly. Do you understand Yong Soo?" he narrowed his eyes to the Korean child.  
>Yong Soo just returned a glare.<p>

"Good." Lukas said. "Let's go."

Lukas and Berwald slowly began to open the doors. Light from the bright moon peered into the farm, which awoke the standing, sleeping animals. The animals jumped for a moment, but relaxed themselves when they realized it was only small children.

"Wow, it's huge!" Tino commented. "Hey look! Are those horses?"

"Yeah," Berwald looked up. The creatures were staring at them like they had never seen children before. Or a human being for that matter. 

"Hey Lovi, look!" Antonio called, "There's some weird fluffy animasl over here! It looks like it's made of pillow stuffing and other soft stuff!"

"Idiot, those are sheep."

Arthur chuckled at everyone's curiosity.

"Arthur, Mei Mei, and Ludwig. Please bring your siblings and friend over here." Lukas ordered. "their the ones who got really hurt, so I need to check on them immediately."

They listened and placed their brothers and friend against a stable. Lukas checked each child thoroughly. Arthur would clench his hand into a fist and shiver every time Lukas looked nervous. Finally, Lukas turned to them with a long sigh.

"Alfred's fine. He just needs a lot of water." Lukas began. Arthur sighed with relief. "Yong Soo needs water too, but on his body not to drink. And Gilbert…." He paused, "He needs some time to lay down. The branch really injured his back, so he needs to rest up a bit for a while. He must _not_ walk tomorrow or the next day."

"I understand. At least it's not worse." Ludwig sighed.

Arthur stifled a yawn. "Maybe we should all get some sleep. How about up there?" he pointed to a ladder that led to a small upstairs in the barn.

"Good idea." Lukas nodded.

"Wait, can't we sleep on these fluffy animals? They seem soft enough."

"I told you their called sheep you bastard and no we can't sleep on them!"

Arthur sighed. "Come on, let's go upstairs."

The others began to climb up the tall ladder and Arthur, Mei Mei and Ludwig helped the injured ones upstairs. The upstairs was small, but was covered in hay for them to lay on. 

"Ah, this feels nice. I mean, not as nice as the beds in our orphanage but still." Antonio rolled around on the hay.

"Stop you dumb bastard and move over. I want to sleep. _Now."_ Lovino ordered.

"Sure Lovi!" Antonio moved over for Lovino to lay down, who layed down beside him.

Arthur made room for an already sleeping Alfred, and he plopped himself down next to him. The fell asleep in the quiet barn that night. It was comforting.

….

The next morning everyone woke up. Alfred was still coughing like he was yesterday, and Yong Soo still had trouble standing. Arthur looked down at the doors of the barn. It was an early morning, and the sun was shining. It was a good way to start the day after the fire.

"I'm going to search for herbs." Lukas announced, "Meanwhile, why don't some of you go for food and water? I don't think we should step into the burning ashes of the forest to go to the town to get bread. Just look for berries and nuts or whatever."

"Good idea," Arthur began, "I'll go. Anyone else?"

"I'll go," Berwald offered.

"Yeah me too!" Mathias cheered.

"Nej, you stay."

"But why?!" Mathias whined.

"Because you'll just cause trouble."

Mathias gave the Swedish child a glare and stormed off, annoyed.

"I'd like to come!" Tino smiled.

"Me too…." A weak response came from Alfred. Arthur turned to his friend. Was it a good idea to bring him?

"Nej, the injured should stay behind." Berwald ordered.

"Now hang on Berwald," Arthur began, "If we bring him he can get water faster. Maybe we should bring Yong Soo and Mei Mei too."

"NEJ. TO MANY PEOPLE." He growled.

"Very well." Arthur narrowed his eyes. "We need a bucket to bring water back in then. It's a farm, so I'm sure there's one somewhere."

Indeed there was. Arthur carried Alfred as they climbed down the ladder to the bottom floor of the barn. Arthur noticed the animals were eating already, so whoever owned this barn must've come in and fed them already. Thank god they didn't notice them.

Arthur grabbed the bucket and they slowly made their way outside. Arthur looked around, "Where do we go?"

"Over there," Berwald pointed to the right, "That's the side of the forest that didn't get burned, so let's go there."

He led the way and they began their search for water. They made their way through the forest. This side of the forest had a lot more plants and trees. Arthur stumbled on a root, and almost dropped Alfred.

Eventually they found a small pond. Arthur ran over to it, and looked closely at the water.  
>"Is it clean?" He asked Berwald. Berwald studied it for a minute, then tasted it himself.<br>"Yeah, 'ts clean."

"Good! Alfred, drink!"

"Wha-?" Alfred looked up weakly. His blue eyes widened when he saw the water, and he jumped off of Arthur and began to drink rapidly. He stopped after a minute of drinking and sighed happily, "That feels _so_ much better!" he cried, "I can talk normally again! And look, no more coughing!" he cheered. 

Arthur chuckled at his jumping friend.  
>"So, we should look for food now." Tino began, "Let's try a few bushes over h-"<p>

"Ahh!" Alfred jumped back from the pond. A strange creature had jumped out at him, hissing loudly. Berwald grabbed each of the frightened children and dragged them away. "Be careful! That's an alligator!"

"You don't say?" Arthur panted. That was close. It could've eaten Alfred, then move on to the rest of them. They waited for the alligator to march back into the water. For five minutes it didn't move. It was a persistent one. Finally, the alligator stormed it's way back underwater, giving up.

"Few! That was close." Tino breathed. "So as I said before, let's look for food now. Let's try over there." Tino made his way to a bush on ahead on the right, and Berwald followed him.

"Alfred, let's check over here." Arthur made his way to a few more bushes. Alfred padded after him, and looked at the bushes curiously. "What are we looking for again?"

"Berries. Just search a little." Arthur looked through the bushes. There was really nothing. He looked down sadly. What now?

"Arthur, I'm hungry." Alfred whined and his stomach rumbled loudly.

"I said search. Then we'll eat." Arthur continued to look. His eyes widened when he finally spotted a few red berries. He smiled as picked a few. He turned to the others, "Hey guys, I found some!"

"So did we!" Tino called back. "Blueberries!"

"Awesome! I think I found raspberries." Arthur glanced at them again. Then again, he had no idea what raspberries looked like. Berwald and Tino rushed over, and they both gasped when they saw the berries in Arthur's hand.

"Idiot!" Berwald smacked the berries out of Arthur's hand, and Arthur turned to him with rage.

"What the hell?!"

"Those were yew berries. They're _poisonous."_

"Oh…." Arthur blushed, "Sorry I didn't know."

"It doesn't matter," Tino began, "We picked a lot of them, so we can all eat. We should fill up the bucket with water now."

"Be careful. The alligator might still be watching" Berwald warned.

Damn. Why did he have to be the one holding the bucket?! Arthur sighed and quickly to the pond. As fast as a bird, he drew water into the bucket and ran back to his friends. Thankfully the alligator didn't appear again.

"Let's go." Arthur said. They made their way back to the farm.

….

When they got back, Gilbert had woken up. Arthur ran up to his friend and smiled, "How are you feeling?"

"Terrible." Gilbert said sadly, "I can't walk."

"I understand. That was brave what you did."

"Huh?"

"Saving Elizabeth. That took balls man."

"Whatever," Gilbert looked away, blushing sheepishly.  
>Arthur chuckled then turned to the others.<p>

"Ai-ya! Berries?! Those won't fill me up~aru!" Yao complained. Arthur sighed. He forgot how big Yao's appetite was. Well, at least it wasn't as bad as Alfred's.

Everyone, including Yao, ate the berries. Blueberries tasted nice! Once everyone finished, they began a nice long discussion on what to do next, while Mei Mei rubbed water on her brother's body.

"I think we should go search for another abandoned shed," Berwald commented, "There may be another one out there."

"And what are the odds of that?" Emil began, "it's not like there are a million abandoned sheds and houses on this planet."  
>Berwald glared at him. "And what's your plan?"<p>

Emil turned away, "point taken."

"That's what I thought. Anyone else?" Berwald scanned the room. No one else answered.  
>"Well we can't just hide here forever! Eventually the owner of this barn will come up here and find us!" Berwald yowled.<p>

He was right. Arthur sighed. He wished he had an idea. Berwald sighed. "I guess we'll just stay up here another night then. You all better hope that the owner of the barn doesn't come up here though.

They all nodded. It only seemed fair, seeing as how Gilbert couldn't walk yet.

"While we're here, why don't we go look at the animals? I call the sheep!" Antonio scrambled down the ladder, followed by Lovino, Feliciano, Kiku and Alfred.

"Hey wait!" Arthur followed them down the ladder, "Don't spook them!"  
>Arthur saw Alfred just staring at a huge horse. His blue eyes wide with wonder. "Can I pet it?" he asked jumping up and down to reach it's head.<p>

"Absolutely not. You can't reach it anyway. Don't go inside the stable either, it might step on you."

Alfred frowned sadly. "_Fine._ What're those?"

"Sheep."

Alfred raced over to the fluffy animals and stroked them gently. One of the sheep nodded it's snout against Alfred's hand, making him laugh. "Look! They like me!"

Arthur smiled. Suddenly, he heard a small mewl come from the back of the barn. Arthur padded over to the back and saw Kiku stoking a small, black and white cat. The cat purred and rubbed it's face against Kiku's hand, making him laugh a little.

Arthur and the others returned upstairs to the others. They were conversing like usual, except for Gilbert, who was alone in his small corner.

Arthur felt bad for him. Why didn't anyone go and talk to him? Arthur sighed. They were gonna be here for a while.

**Author's note!**

**See you in the next chapter :3**

**Tails**


	16. The badger attack

Chapter 17

Arthur woke up the next morning and his stomach rumbled. He had just woken up and he was already hungry. He sat up and yawned. No one was awake yet. _No one._ What the hell? Wasn't Berwald usually awake by now? Or Lukas? Arthur shrugged. Who really cares?

His stomach rumbled again. _Ugh._ He decided to go out by himself and get berries. Hopefully no one woke up while he was gone. He carefully tip-toed around everyone, and was right near the ladder when his foot made a crack on the floor. He flinched and turned around, hoping no one woke up. Thankfully, no one did. The only thing he saw was Yong Soo kick Mei Mei in the face, who in return kicked him in the nuts. That made the sleeping Korean squeal a little but fall right back to sleep out of pain. Arthur chuckled. He wanted to laugh louder, but then he'd wake everyone up. He climbed down the ladder and raced for the door. He walked out the door and ran for the forest.

Once in the forest, he made his way around small bushes. He became nervous when he realized he was nowhere around where they were yesterday. He gulped nervously and treaded onward. He had to keep looking. Finally he made it to a small river, which had many bushes around it. Arthur walked over the small river and raised an eyebrow. It was so small….

He shook his head. That didn't matter. He walked to a few bushes, and finally he spotted blueberries. They looked so good. He picked a few….until he realized he forgot the bucket at the farm. He sighed. No matter! He'll take back what he could carry.

Finally he had enough berries he could carry in his hands. He felt happy he could play his part. He smiled. Suddenly, he heard a rustle in the bushes. He turned around swiftly and shuddered. Before he knew it, a child had sprung out at him. Arthur jumped back with a yowl, and fell over, his berries still in his hands. He looked up to see a child with long, brown hair staring at him sternly yet confidently. The child smirked: "Berries being carried by a small blonde child? Heh, you'll be an easy fight for me. No one's gotten past my theft skills berfore."

He was after his berries! Not on his watch! Arthur frowned and growled, he dropped his berries and dashed at the child, and they began to fist fight on the floor. The child kicked Arthur in the face, who in return squealed in pain. This kid was strong! Arthur needed to prove he was stronger. He kicked the child away, who tumbled away next to the stream. The child stood up and shook, and Arthur did the same. Arthur ran to him and felt his foot collide with child's face. The child fell back a little, but yet stood up like it didn't even hurt him. However, the blow to the face did make his mouth bleed a little, but he wiped his hand over his lip to stop the bleeding. He glared at Arthur, who in return flinched. The child jumped at him and for a few minutes, they tussled on the floor. Finally, they separated and fell to the floor. Both of the children stood up and shook, panting from the exhaustion from fighting. The child crouched getting ready to attack again. Arthur crouched, preparing for his attack, when suddenly the child fell to the floor. Arthur flinched. The child wasn't going to attack him? Had Arthur beaten him that much? Arthur smirked at his success, however, the child looked tired and hurt. He had to ask:

"Had enough yet?"

"Never!"

The child leapt again at him and Arthur blocked the attack with his arm, and threw the child back. The child fell back, panting, and prepared to leap again. But the child shook for a second and fell to the floor again, panting.

"S-stupid kid. I-if I wasn't so tired and hungry, I'd get you!"

Arthur shivered. He now realized what had happened. This kid _did_ look tired and hungry. He seemed weak too.

_This kid is to hungry and weak to fight. If he doesn't eat, he'll die._

He walked over and kneeled down to the child: "Who are you? And why did you attack me?"

The child shivered and refused to tell his name for a second, but suddenly let out a long sigh, realizing he was defeated. "I'm Heracles Karpusi."

_I didn't ask for the whole name but ok._ "Now, why were you stealing from me?"

The child sighed. "Well, my mother and I are poor. We really don't have a lot of money to buy food, so I decided to go out into the forest and get berries to eat today. I do it a lot though. Bu you took the only berries I've seen so far after being out here looking for five minutes. So….I decided to steal from you."

"No matter what, stealing is wrong. But…." Arthur looked at his berries. His hunger was great, but this kid had to be even more hungry then he was. He sighed and away, "Take them."

"Excuse me?"

"Take them. And hurry up before I change my mind."

The child smiled. "Thanks kid!" he smiled. Arthur flinched. The child's super soft voice turned louder for a second out of happiness. Arthur grabbed the berries and handed them to Heracles, who in return smiled.

"My name is Arthur Kirkland by the way."

"Oh ok," his voice went soft again, "Thank you Arthur."  
>Arthur did nothing but nod with a smile. The child nodded and ran back across the river. Arthur stared as he ran away. Arthur smiled.<p>

….

He walked back to the farm and opened the door. He walked up the ladder, and everyone was awake. 

"Artie!" Alfred yowled and pulled his friend into a hug, "Where did you go?"  
>Arthur sighed and pulled himself away from the hug.<p>

"I-I went to look for berries, but came back empty handed." He sighed. He looked down, but Alfred smiled.  
>"Don't be sad! We'll go out and look for more! Ok?"<p>

"Ok."

Everyone turned back to their own conversation, and Alfred ran back to Matthew, who he was conversing with. Arthur turned to look at Gilbert, who was laying down quietly in the corner. Arthur felt sorry for him. No one was talking to him. Arthur walked over to his friend and sat beside him. "Gilbert?"

He didn't answer. Was he still asleep? He tried again: "Gilbert?"

"What?" he sighed angrily. He turned and gazed at him with sad red eyes. Arthur felt nothing but sympathy for him. "How's your back?"

"Not good. Lukas said it's gonna take another few days for it to really function. I mean, I can kinda stand, but it's not enough."

"I understand."

Arthur sighed. What could help his friend feel better? Emotionally, _and _physically?

"Gilbert stay still. I'm here to check on your back again."  
>Arthur turned to see Lukas walking over. Gilbert obeyed and lay still. Lukas pushed two fingers on his back. "Does it hurt when I do this?"<p>

"Not really."

"That's good." Lukas smiled, "How about when I push down harder?"

Gilbert let out a yowl of pain when Lukas pushed down harder. "No! Stop!"  
>"I see." Lukas sighed, "Well you should still lay here for a few more days until it gets better."<br>Lukas nodded and walked away. 

"Dammit."

"Huh?"

"What if I never walk again?" He looked away sadly, his red eyes shaking.  
>Arthur sighed. What could he do?<p>

Later on, they went to get berries again. "I'm going," Berwald began, "Who's coming with me?"

"I am!" Tino cheered.

"I'll go!" Mathias cheered.

"I'll come," Arthur smiled.

Berwald nodded. "Good. Follow me." They made their way out the door, into the forest again. With Berwald at the lead, the ended up where they were yesterday. Arthur sighed, embarrassed that he couldn't find this place on his own before. Berwald stopped at a small bush with berries on it. "Gather some in the bucket. And hurry. We don't know what's out h-"

He was stopped by a rustle in the bushes. The children turned and flinched. Before they knew it, a creature with a black and white face and a black and white body was upon them, snarling immensely.

"A badger!" Berwald yowled, "Run!"

The children scampered to the left, trying to drive it off. Sadly, it followed close behind and gave chase. Berwald ran ahead of them but turned rapidly when he heard Tino squeal with fear. The badger was right on his heels.

"Tino!" he yowled.

Arthur turned and saw Berwald jump to Tino and push him out of the way, making the badger jump back in fear. Arthur shuddered when he realized Berwald's glasses fell off.

Berwald kneeled up and shook. He looked around, shaking. "Where are my glasses?!"

"Berwald, look out!" Tino screeched.

Berwald turned not to Tino, but the badger. The badger had regained it's bravery and jumped for him. They all froze in horror as the badger clawed at Berwald's eyes, making him shriek with pain.

"AHHHH!"

"BERWALD!" They screeched. Arthur snarled and grabbed a branch.

"GET OUT OF HERE! GO!" Arthur waved the stick at the badger and hit it on the head with it. The badger flinched out of fear and ran away, defeated.

Panting, Arthur turned to Berwald, who was lying on the floor motionless.  
><em>Berwald, no….<em>

"Berwald!" Tino shrieked. Arthur watched the small Finnish boy run up to him, crying. He turned to Mathias, who was shivering through tears.

Arthur realized they were thinking the same thing. Berwald, who they though could never be defeated, was defeated.

"Berwald, please wake up! It's me!" Tino cried. Arthur and Mathias shook with sadness, and Arthur felt tears pour from his eyes. They had to wake him up somehow, but they didn't know how. He wasn't waking up to any of Tino's calls, so what could they do? Suddenly, Tino did something none of them thought he would do.

He kissed him. He placed a small kiss on Berwald's cheek. Arthur and Mathias' eyes widened with shock. Mathias smirked, "I knew it."

Arthur shuddered. He had no idea! Amazingly, Berwald opened his eyes slowly, but immediately closed them again. "My eyes…." He began, "They hurt…."

Arthur stared in horror at the long scratch marks the lined Berwald's face. The badger had thankfully not scratched out his eyes, but certainly around them. The scratch marks went down his face, crossing both of his eyes. Arthur could imagine the pain he was feeling right now, and he imagined it was great.

Arthur turned and saw Berwald's glasses laying in the dirt. He picked the up and dried them off. Thankfully they weren't broken. He ran to Berwald, who was awake, but kept his eyes shut.

"I have your glasses. We should get your back to Lukas."

"Agreed." Tino answered. Tino grabbed Berwald and placed him on his back and over his shoulders. Berwald shivered, and Arthur swore he saw tears. They made their way back to the farm quickly, because if they didn't, who knows what would happen to Berwald?

**Author's note!**

**So sufin has officially commenced. Yay XD**

**Well, Berwald is hurt, but I'm sure he'll be fine XD**

**See you in the next chapter! :3**

**Tails**


	17. The farmer

Chapter 18

'"You didn't have to save me…."

"Huh? Oh, you've come to talk to me at last? Your guilt must have finally retreated." Gilbert smirked.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Shut up. I wanted to come over and say thank you."  
>"Excuse me?"<p>

"I said thank you did I fucking stutter?!" she snarled. Gilbert just laughed. "Ah, girls. Girls are all the same."

"GRR…."

"But you're different."

"Huh?"

"Other girls are prissy and care about their hair and makeup. Then again I don't really know what makeup is….I always just saw the orphanage employees wear it, so that's all I know. Anyway, you're strong. You're not afraid to speak you're mind or beat someone up, and you don't take crap from anyone. I like that in a girl." He smiled.

"Oh shut up." She blushed with a smile. She paused. Was she taking this from him? Then again, it was her fault he hurt his back. She looked down sadly. _He still can't even walk….and it's all my fault. _

"Don't blame yourself, it was my choice." Gilbert began, "I could've let you become the crippled one. Nah, you're to pr-sorry…." He paused with a blush.

"Sorry? What were you gonna say?"

"Uh, um, you're too pretty to be crippled….DON'T HIT ME!" Gilbert flinched.

"Heh heh," Elizabeth sighed, "Again thank you. You're nicer then I thought. I guess I forgive you for everything. I guess we can be friends."

"….Good." Gilbert began, "That's what I wanted."

She smiled, and he smiled back.

….

"LUKAS!"

Arthur burst through the doors with Tino and Mathias, who were still carrying an injured Berwald. They climbed the ladder swiftly and dropped Berwald at their feet for all to see.  
>Everyone's eyes widened when they saw Berwald's injured eyes. The scratches were still bleeding, and he shivered with pain.<p>

"Lukas please do something!" Tino cried. Arthur and the others expected Lukas to give his usual smart remark, and bring Berwald over to his usual little corner so he can fix eyes. But this was different. Instead, Lukas shivered. He stared wide eyed at Berwald, shivering.

"I-I…."

"What?" Arthur gasped.

"I CAN'T!"

Everyone gasped. They all thought Lukas could fix anything. Unfortunately, this was something even he couldn't fix. They also thought that Berwald could never be beaten. That was also proven wrong.

"What?!" Tino cried, "W-why?!"

"I just….can't! I've never dealt with a scratch that deep before! He made need stitches! I don't know how to do stitches! I don't even have the material for that!" Lukas cried. Arthur paused in shock when he saw Lukas drop to his knees and cry…."I can't…."

"No….NO!" Tino yowled, "WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO HIM IF THEY DON'T GET FIXED?!"

"If….if they don't get fixed….the scratches may become infected….and if they do..the infection will spread to his eyes and he could go blind…."

"WHAT?!" They all screeched. Berwald….blind? His vision was already not so good, which is why he needed glasses. Arthur still couldn't believe it. All of them shivered with fear for their friend, especially Tino.

"What do we do?" Arthur quivered, "Now we've got two injured kids here…."

"I'm ashamed. I'm ashamed of myself. I can't fix him and I….I just can't believe it." Lukas continued to cry. Arthur sympathized him. He understood. Lukas felt useless, and he had to make sure he didn't feel this way.  
>"Come on, Lukas," Arthur began, "It's not your fault. We'll figure out a way."<p>

"Oh yeah? Who's gonna help us?" he sobbed.

"….Good point…." Arthur sighed. What _can_ they do?

All hope seemed lost. Suddenly, there was a loud creak. They all turned around and flinched. The barn door slowly began to open. They were all here so who could it be….?

CRAP. THE FARM OWNER.

How?! He or she had missed them the few times! Now the owner is coming in at this time of the day?! They never did that before! Arthur shivered, "Nobody make a sound…." He whispered. They all nodded in reply. 

No one moved. No one spoke. Until they heard the farmer speak:

"Goodness, what is all that noise?"  
>A female? Oh good. She didn't sound angry. She honestly sounded nice….and confused.<p>

"I could've sworn I heard children in here….hello? You could come out! I won't hurt you!"

Arthur almost wanted to reply. She sounded nice, and Arthur wasn't really afraid….but they couldn't let their cover be blown. Not with to injured friends.

"H….H…."

"No bruder! Don't!"

"HEAKCHOOYAHAYYY!"

Arthur and everyone else froze. Gilbert's sneeze was beyond loud. And sure enough, the farmer heard it.  
>"Oh? You're up there?" The farmer spoke, looking up to the ladder. Arthur hid himself from the top of ladder. Where could they hide?! They couldn't move or she'd hear them!...not that she hadn't already….<p>

She began to climb up the ladder, and Arthur could hear his friends shaking and murmuring.

"Ve~! What do we do?!"

"Artie, I'm scared!"

Arthur couldn't reply. He was too scared…._now. _He backed up when the farmer finally reached the top, and they all saw her dark blue eyes widen. All the children froze. This was it. They were done for.

"Oh my! Where did you all come from?" she asked sweetly. Arthur was surprised. She had quite a nice, sweet and concerning voice for someone who just discovered a bunch of children in her barn. Arthur eyed the farmer. She had a yellow headband, blue overalls, and….OH MY GOD HER BOOBS WERE HUGE! Arthur tried not to stare at them

"We….we came from the city miss." Arthur turned and everyone flinched when Alfred spoke, "We're sorry."

"Yes, Gomenazai." Kiku bowed. Everyone nodded their apology, and Arthur, seeing how everyone else was doing it, nodded as well.

"Oh my, what stunning manners you have!" she smiled, "From the city, eh? Why are you all here?" she plopped herself down on the floor and was ready to listen. Arthur opened his mouth to speak, but was surprised when Alfred walked past him to answer:

"Well, some of us were in a very bad orphanage. They treated us badly and made us eat slop. Some of us were already orphans who lived in the woods for a while. But when the forest caught fire, we had to run away. We took refuge in your barn, and….were sorry…." Alfred looked away sheepishly.

Arthur was stunned. _When_ did Alfred learn to talk like _that?_ Arthur shivered, expecting a yell from the woman, but she just chuckled.

"You poor things! Are you alright?"

"Some of us are," Lukas answered, "Not all of us…." He looked away, his ashamed expression returning.

"Oh! They are hurt! Please, come-"

"Please! Don't send us back to the orphanage!" Alfred sobbed, "I'm begging you!" Arthur watched as Alfred pleaded through tears. Arthur couldn't help it. He released a few tears himself. Every child who came from the orphanage began to weep. Their emotions capturing the heart of the farmer.

"Please! Don't send us back!" Yao cried, "Please!"

The others nodded. Even the children who made a home in the woods sobbed, fearing they would be sent to an orphanage too.  
>The farmer raised a hand and moved it towards Alfred. Arthur almost screamed and got ready to defend his friend. But instead of hitting him, the farmer rubbed his softly. Alfred gasped.<br>"You poor things! I'm not sending you anywhere! I'm Yekaterina. I own this farm with my sister and my friend. You all escaped that massive fire? Some of you look pretty damaged…." She eyed Gilbert, Yong Soo, and Berwald.

"Poor babies….come into my home. I'll take care of you!" She smiled.

Should they? Should they trust a stranger? She seemed nice. And she didn't hit Alfred….what had they got to lose?  
>"Your friends look <em>very <em>hurt. I have a little experience with medicine, so I can fix them. You all must be starving too!"

Alfred's stomach rumbled to prove her point.

She chuckled, "You must be! Come, I'll take care of all of you."

Everyone looked at each other. They all shrugged. They were hungry….Also, she offered to help Berwald and the others. If Lukas couldn't do it, someone had to.

"Now come on," she smiled walking down the ladder, "let's fix up and get you all something to eat."

Alfred immediately followed without second thought. If food was offered, there was no stopping him. Arthur sighed. They all followed slowly, still cautious of this woman's intensions. The farmer made her way up to the house door. She paused and looked at the children, "Don't be afraid, we won't hurt you!"

_We?_ Oh right! She, her sister and her friend owned the farm. Arthur gulped. Yekaterina opened the door, revealing a nice, small, wooden house. They all slowly stepped in and looked around. _A house?! A real live house!_ Arthur couldn't hide his excitement. Everyone looked around in wonder. Arthur saw Mathias and Emil look up the stairs, and Matthew staring at another room down the hall.

"Come now. Bring your injured friends over to the couch so they can lay down." Yekaterina made her way to a couch, and Ludwig, Mei Mei, and Tino followed. They placed their injured friends on the couch, and Berwald moaned in pain.

"Berwald!" Tino cried near tears again.

"Don't worry! He'll be k as soon as I take care of him!" Yekaterina smiled rubbing Tino's head. Tino sniffed and smiled, "Thank you."  
>"My pleasure," she chuckled. She turned to the rest of the kids, who watched her eagerly. "So, what would you like to eat?"<p>

"Uhhhhhh…..IWANTDIMSUMHAMBURGERFISHNCHIPSSALMIAKKISUHSI"

Everyone spoke together at once. Yekaterina flinched and her eyes widened. "Woah, slow down there kiddos! Now, why don't you all _slowly_ and_ separately _tell me what you want?"

They all nodded. One by one they said the food they wanted:

Alfred: Hamburger!

Yao: Dim-Sum!

Kiku: Sushi

Kaoru: What Yao said

Matthew: Pancakes

Feliciano and Lovino: Pasta!

Antonio: Tomatoes!

Ludwig, Gilbert, Elizabeth and Rodrich: Wurst

Francis: Pot au fue

All Nordic Children: Salmiakki

Arthur thought for a minute, then snapped his fingers: "Fish and chips!" he yowled with a smile. His smile dropped when he saw Yekaterina's eyes widen. Everyone else's smiles faded too. Arthur looked away sheepishly with a blush, "Sorry. We asked too much of you…."

"Oh no!" she smiled, "I won't make it. If you all want such things, why don't we go to a restaurant later instead?"

They all froze. A real….restaurant?! Arthur couldn't imagine it. He had no idea what it looked like. All he knew was that they served good food. "Why a restaurant?" he asked.

"So you can all get what you want! _I_ certainly can't cook all that!" she laughed nervously.

"Why not miss?" Alfred asked.  
>"Manners, Alfred!" Arthur snarled, making him flinch. Yekaterina chuckled, "Don't worry about it! He's just curious. But we can't go until your friends heal. Why don't you all go and relax in the kitchen? There's a small TV in there you could watch."<p>

_TV?!_ This woman had everything! They all raced into the kitchen, awaiting to see the talking noise box they had destined to see for a long time. It had an interesting sound to it. But the show was black and white. Wasn't TV colored?

"Why is it black and white?" Alfred asked.

"It must be an old show~aru." Yao smiled, proud of himself.

"Correct! It's called The Twilight Zone." Yekaterina called from the living room.

_The Twilight Zone? Sound's cool._ Arthur thought. It looked creepy. Arthur liked creepy things. He used to read scary stories in the orphanage, and unlike Alfred, he enjoyed them. Sadly when Alfred read them Arthur would have to sleep with him all night and count sheep for him, 'cause he was scared. Arthur sighed at the memory. He smiled though, it was cute.

The children watched for a while, and only once did Alfred and Mathias shudder from the surprising turn of events on the show.

"Amazing! I never thought TV could be so entertaining~aru!" Yao cried with a smile. 

"It is cool, I must say," Kaoru put in, "I never thought I'd get to look at one."

They all nodded in agreement.

"GAHHHHHH!"

"What the hell was that?!" Arthur shouted. They all scurried back to the living room, and saw Yekaterina and Ludwig standing over a crying Gilbert.  
>"There, there. It hurts now, but you'll be able to walk again!" She smiled.<p>

Gilbert nodded with a smile through tears, "Thank you…."

She nodded. "Now you little one, just need a cold bath," she turned to Yong Soo, "That can wait."

"Good I hate baths." Yong Soo mumbled, making Yekaterina chuckle. She jumped back in surprise when she saw Mei Mei pull on Yong Soo's curl while muttering something in Taiwanese.  
>"Ok I'm sorry!" Yong Soo howled, and Mei Mei let go and smiled.<br>Smiling, Yekaterina turned to Berwald, "You my friend, need special treatment for those scratches. I'll be right back." She swiftly ran up the stairs. The children waited in patience until she ran back down, supplies in her hands. She bent down to Berwald and began doing something to his scratches. Was she stitching them? It seemed that way. The children watched patiently, and Tino ran up to Berwald's side.

A few children fell asleep after the two hours she had been working on his scratches. Arthur began to doze off until:

"All done!" Yekaterina smiled. She moved away from Berwald after rubbing a cold, wet clothe on his stitches. He looked up and rubbed his eyes for a moment:

"Where are my glasses?"

"Right here." Arthur padded up to him and put them on his face. Berwald looked around for a minute, and the other's clenched their fists with worry.

"I can see, and my eyes don't hurt anymore," he sighed with relief.  
>"Yay! You're ok!" Tino jumped up and hugged the Swedish child, who in return blushed. It only took Berwald a second to hug back, and Arthur smiled.<p>

"Now don't touch those stitches. Touching them will only make them worse." Yekaterina warned.

Berwald nodded.

She turned to Yong Soo, "Well young one, your bath can wait. You over there," she turned to Gilbert, "Can you stand?"

Gilbert flinched. He hadn't tried it yet. He gulped and began to move off the couch."

"Steady Bruder," Ludwig held his arm as he climbed down.

Arthur clenched his hands into fists. He hoped Gilbert would be able to stand. Thankfully, Gilbert stood up on his legs perfectly. He shook a little, but was able to stand.

"H-Hey! I can walk!" he yowled happily waking around, "I didn't think I could ever walk again!"  
>Ludwig and Elizabeth sighed with relief, and Yekaterina chuckled. "Well, now that that's settled, what do you say we all go to that restaurant I told you about?"<p>

A loud rumble came from a few stomachs, "Please!"

"Very well! Let me get my coat and we'll go." Yekaterina ran upstairs.

"Huddle!" Arthur called. Everyone gathered in a circle.  
>"What now?!" Arthur yowled in a whisper, "Can we trust her?"<p>

"Of course we can! She saved Berwald and the others! If she wants to take us out for food, let her! I'm starving anyway!" Mathias howled.

"Not so loud!" Lukas snarled. "For once I agree with him though."

"Thanks Luky!"

"Whatever…."

"Yeah, I'm hungry." Alfred began, "I always wanted to try a hamburger."

_Same. I've wanted to try Fish and Chips for a while._ Arthur thought. He sighed. "Very well. I trust her too! So treat her with kindness, and no misbehaving!"

"Right!"

"Ok! Are we all ready to go?" they broke the circle when Yekaterina raced back down the stairs wearing a brown coat. They all nodded and she opened the door.

"Well let's go then! Walk slowly since your friends are still walking off their wounds."

"Yes mam'!"

They all walked outside, staring at the big cornfield. It was beautiful. Corn for miles to be seen! It made Arthur hungry.

"Come now! My car is this way." Yekaterina walked to the other side of the barn, and the children followed. Could they all squeeze into one car? Arthur flinched when he saw a big, blue truck. _I'm sure we can._

"Come now! Let's go!" she called, and everyone jumped in. The car pulled out of the driveway and began to make it's way down the road. Arthur was amazed. He had never been in a car before, let alone a truck. He watched everyone stare out the windows, their eyes round with wonder. Alfred was especially hilarious, putting his hands to the glass.

Arthur chuckled. He turned his head to the window too. He stared at the passing trees in wonder. He smiled. He couldn't wait to see what a restaurant had to offer.

**Author's note!**

**Ok a few things. I heard Gilbert's loud sneeze on the counting sheep CD, and I found it hilarious. So, I had to put it on here XD**

**Next. I know Ukraine doesn't have an official name yet, but I found out some fans call her Yekaterina, so there's that.**

**Also, shout out to a writer on here named Romano! You actually got the plot of my story correct, and happy birthday! XD**

**See you in the next chapter! :3**

**Tails**


	18. Home

Chapter 18

**(Excuse me! Please read! Umm…I just found out that Hong Kong's real name is not Kaoru. I'm SO SORRY. People must've had no idea who he was. I'll be using his real name from now on again I'm so sorry T_T)**

"YOU ENTER A DOOR WHERE ALL LOGIC SEEMS LOST. THINGS PAUSE. YOU SEE STRANGE THINGS YOU'VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE. WELCOME TO…."

"Please don't!"

"THE TWILIGHT ZONE." Yao laughed.

"Ahhhh!" Alfred grabbed Arthur's black cloak and shivered.

"Hahahahaha!" Yao held his stomach with laughter.

Arthur sighed. "Alfred, how long are you gonna be scared of ghosts? And other scary things?"

"A HERO is not afraid of anything! Yao started it!" Alfred whined, making Yao laugh harder.  
>"Shut up brother." Wang mumbled.<br>"Yao that's enough." Arthur scolded softly. Yao sat up and whipped tears from his eyes, "Ahh, sorry~aru," he giggled.

"Besides, what you said isn't even what the narrator said on the TV show." Arthur smirked.  
>"So what~aru?!" Yao howled.<p>

"Oh stop yelling," Ludwig snarled, "Remember, were _guests._"

Arthur sighed. He was right. However, it was unfair! Mathias was already poking Lukas uncontrollably. No one lectured him! Ugh, who even cared anymore?

"HEAKCHOOYAAHAAY!"

"Bruder, are you catching a cold?"

"Hell no! I'm fi-h-h-"

"Oh bruder please don't-"

"ACHOO!"

"Huh, that was your most normal sneeze in your whole life."

"Kesese! See? I'm awesome!"

Arthur sighed with a smile. It was insane, yet hilarious. He looked out the window again. His green eyes widened when he saw small buildings fill the sidewalks, and people walking happily. He watched people speak to each other, people reading-Woah! They hit a bump, making the car shake. Huh? What was this? Oh, a bridge! It was metal though, not stone like the one by the other river in the forest by the city. The car passed a dock by the river, followed by a store. Suddenly the car pulled to a stop slowly and it parked into place. Cars were amazing!

"Stay here, little ones. I'll be right back." Yekatarina ordered. She stepped out of the car and pressed a button on a small keychain. The car made a click sound. Everyone jumped a little when they heard it. Arthur shook the handle to the door. It was locked.

"Hey what gives?!" Arthur shouted. Yekatarina walked into the restaurant without them. What was she doing?! Wasn't she gonna treat _them?_  
>"Maybe she went to go <em>order<em> the food. Ever think of that?" Ludwig growled. Lukas nodded in agreement. Everyone exchanged glances and shrugged. He could be right.

*_Rumble*_ Everyone turned to Gilbert. "What?!"

"Heh heh we heard that." Yao giggled. Gilbert turned around back to the window, "You're the glutton here Yao boy."

"Shut up~aru! Alfred's worse!"

"Hey!"

"Oh quiet! We're all hungry. So everyone be quiet and be patient." Arthur growled. Everyone nodded and stayed quiet. Only a few stomachs rumbled here and there.

Finally she returned, carrying a few plastic bags in her hands. Arthur's curiosity was peaked. She stepped into the car and placed the bags onto the passenger's seat, aromas flowing from them.  
>"What's that?" he asked curiously.<p>

"The food, sillies!" Yekaterina smiled. OH FOOD. It smelled so good. Arthur almost dropped dead when Gilbert almost jumped into the passenger's seat, trying to grab it. Luckily Ludwig put him in a head lock and pulled him back. That made everyone laugh, including Yekaterina. She was cool.  
>The car swiftly took them back to the farm and they all jumped out, feeling nice soft soil beneath their shoes. They dashed to the door, waiting for her to open it. Yekaterina laughed a little and opened the door, letting the crowd of children in. They immediately ran to the kitchen, waiting.<p>

"Well, we eating or not?" Gilbert scowled. Ludwig smacked him over the head, making him squeal with pain. "Ok I'm sorry!"

"You should be."

"Come here, loves! It's on the table. I think you'll know which one's yours." Yekaterina smiled. She walked over to a sink and began to wash a few dishes. Arthur didn't hesitate. He and the others dashed to the table to find their food. Luckily, the table had plenty of seats. One seat was actually a long bench that curled against a wall, the rest were chairs. Arthur searched for his fish and chips, but he couldn't find them. Did she forget?  
>Finally he spotted it. He dashed to it swiftly and drooled over the food. It was everything he wanted it to be. He took a swift bite and enjoyed every minute of it. Well, he had a new favorite food.<p>

"AHH! THIS IS SO GOOD!" Arthur turned to Alfred, who was taking fast, famished bites out of his Hamburger.  
>It looked so greasy. Arthur shrugged.<p>

Everyone seemed to scarf down their food in under five minutes. Soon, nothing was in front of them except from empty plates. Yekaterina's eyes widened when she saw how fast the kids ate. Yao burped.

"My, you were hungry!"

"You thin-ow!" Ludwig nudged his disrespectful brother, who in return whined.  
>She chuckled, "Don't worry, it's alright."<p>

Ludwig looked away sheepishly.

Arthur paused for a moment. She fed them….what now? "Miss?"

"Yes love?"

"Um, what now?"

"Huh?"

"Well, you fed us, you helped our friends….should we leave? I mean, we've caused you enough trouble," everyone turned and gave Arthur the 'shut up' glare.

"Oh you poor young things." She sighed. "I must tell you something impor-"

"We're home!"

Everyone turned to the door and heard footsteps come in. Arthur raised an eyebrow curiously. Were these the other two who owned the farm? 

"Something smells good. Yekata, were you cooki-WHAT THE?" the woman paused when she saw all of them. Arthur flinched, and he heard some of the others squeal behind him. This was it. They're in deep trouble.

"Laura! Um, I can explain!"

"What the hell is going on in he….holy shit." Another woman walked in, wearing a long, blue dress.

"Natalya, I can explain it to you too!"

"You damn well better," Natalya sneered.

"Yeah, why are all these kids here? Oh! That one is so cute!" Laura smiled at Lovino.  
>Lovino's eyes widened and he looked away with a blush, "Leave me alone you bastard lady…."<p>

"Ve~, Lovino, you shouldn't curse at a lady," Feliciano scolded him softly.

"Whatever…."

"Explain now please," Natalya looked to Yekaterina with dark eyes. Arthur flinched. He could see the anger and confusion that filled the woman's eyes.

"Um, come into the other room, I'll explain," Yekaterina shooed them into the living room. Arthur tilted his head curiously. Why were they leaving to talk? Couldn't they talk right here?

"Th-their gonna get rid of us," Alfred whimpered, "And send us back to the orphanage."

"No, they won't! They wouldn't…." Arthur shivered. He looked down sadly. His head shot up when he had an idea. He slowly tiptoed to the entrance to the living room and put a hand to his ear. He tried to listen to what they were saying, but they were whispering.

" ! That's rude!" Mei Mei yowled softly.

"It's ok. Asa knows what he is doing. He's very smart," Kiku placed a hand on hers.

She blushed softly, "Oh, I see." She let a small smile crease her lips.  
>A small cough came from Yong Soo, making Kiku turn. Yong Soo eyed him with a strong glare, and gave him the get-away-from-my-sister look. Kiku shivered and released her hand, making her turn worriedly. "What's wrong?"<p>

"Oh, uh….nothing. Just tired," he lied.

Arthur sighed and sat back in his seat. He looked up at them with sad, green eyes. "I'm sorry guys. I couldn't hear them."

"It's ok, Artie! Maybe..Maybe they'll let us return to the woods?" Alfred said hopefully.

"Hopefully," Berwald growled. Arthur forgot how much the Swede missed his home.

They all looked up to the entrance to the kitchen when they heard footsteps enter. They all gave the adults small, sad faces. They weren't even trying to make them feel guilty. Arthur sighed and nodded to everyone, "Come on let's go." He stepped down to the floor, "We'll leave miss. Thank you for feeding us, and being so nice to us."

The woman gave them wide eyes. Laura actually chuckled a little bit. "No children! There's something we want to tell you! Yeka, will you do the honors?"

"Of course! Children-"

"Oh boy! We get to eat one more meal before we go?"

"Shush, Alfred! Don't interrupt!"

"Sorry Artie."

She chuckled, "No sillies! We've decided to adopt you!"

Their eyes widened. "What?" Arthur said it before anyone else said it. "I….What?"

"We've decided to adopt you! All of you! Honestly, we've all always wanted children."

"Yeah!" Laura began, "I always wanted a tough child," she eyed Lovino, "think I found him."

"OH MY GOD YOU WOMAN BASTARD.." Lovino whispered angrily under his breath. Laura chuckled.

"Honestly, I always wanted a kid who was strong, brave, and never scared to speak his mind. Think I found him too," Natalya eyed Berwald.  
>Berwald just looked away, "Ok then.."<p>

Arthur still couldn't believe it. Neither could the rest of them. "You know, if you keep Gilbert, Yao and Alfred, You'll have to cook a lot."

"Hey!"

"Oh I don't mind. Kids with strong appetites turn out to be strong!" Yekaterina smiled.

"Yeah, Artie. STRONG." Alfred flexed his "muscles."

"Oh my god." Arthur deadpanned.

"So, you're serious about this? This is no prank, this is serious. You're _really_ gonna adopt all of us? You know, there's a lot of us." Berwald explained.

"Yeah and Mathias is annoying. You'll have your hands full with him." Lukas said.

"Hey!"

"Oh it's ok. Anyway, we don't mind having so many of you. It makes this place feel alive. It can be very boring around here. And quiet. We don't mind having all of you at all." Yekaterina explained.

Arthur wanted to cry. So he did. He ended up inspiring everyone else to cry too. They all ran to Yekaterina's legs and hugged. "Miss, thank you!" they cried.

The three women smiled sympatheicaly. "Loves, it's ok. Don't cry."

They didn't listen. They had….mothers. Mothers! It's what Arthur always wanted. It's what all of them wanted. They were finally, truly happy.

….

Nighttime arrived. The day went by fast. For the few hours of the day the children explored their new home. Who knew what the home had to offer? It was huger on the inside then the outside. It also smelled nice. They also finally told their new mothers their names. In retrospect, it was fun!

Arthur yawned and looked at the stairs. "Beds are up there?"

"Of course Arthur," Laura chuckled, "We all sleep up there." She began to walk up, motioning for him to follow. He followed her like a puppy following it's owner, and soon they made it to a hall with four rooms down it.  
>"We have two guest rooms. This house has more rooms then you think. Honestly, it scares me too." She laughed softly.<p>

Arthur stared with wonder. It _was_ huge. "So, one of the guestrooms is our bedroom now?"

"Correct! It's big enough for all of you. Sorry you can't use the second one though. Yeka and Nat's brother usually sleeps up there when he visits."

_Brother? Ah, who cares_, Arthur shrugged off the thought. He yawned. "Where's everyone el-"

Laura, instead of listening to him, yowled down the stairs: "Hey Nat! Did you let Hana and Pochi back in?"

"_NO. _That was supposed to be _YOUR_ job."

"Well I got lazy! Do it, will you?"

"Oh my god. _FINE."_ Natalya opened the door and began whistling. Outside, Arthur could here small paw steps padding at the ground swiftly. The paw steps made their way to the door and barking could be heard.  
>"The dogs are here." Natalya announced.<p>

"Doggies!" Tino cried. Tino ran to the small white one and began petting it, along with Berwald. "What's his name?"

"Hanatamago, but you can call him Hana." Laura called from upstairs.

"Aww, so cute! Right Berwald?"  
>"Yeah," Berwald actually smiled when the dog licked his hand.<p>

It took him a minute to notice but Arthur saw Kiku petting the second dog. He was stroking it softly as it let out a few barks. It made Kiku smile.

"Hey kiddos, bedtime! It's almost one o'clock in the morning." Laura called down the stairs.

"No….don't wanna," Gilbert yawned.

"Bruder, do as you're told. Don't cause mother pain."

Arthur smiled. Everyone was calling them mother and he loved it. Of course, he called them mother too. It was only right.

"Come on! Come see your room!" Laura called.

Alfred made his way up the stairs and yawned. "Tired."

"Ok, good. That makes sleep more important." Arthur led him into the room and in it was a night table with a lamp, a nice rug, a wardrobe, and of course, a bed. There was a nice window too that overlooked the farm. Arthur raised an eyebrow, "Can we all fit in one bed?"

"No, silly. We're gonna buy the rest of you beds. For now, some of you will have to use pillows and blankets on the floor." Laura sighed.

"Were sorry," Yekaterina sighed coming upstairs, "it's the only way."

"No, don't be sorry! We understand." Arthur smiled.

"My, what a gentleman you are!" Yekaterina and Laura smiled.  
>Arthur smiled, <em>that's what I was aiming for.<em>

"Artie, if we sleep on the floor, can we sleep by the window? I'm scared; I want moonlight." Alfred shivered.

Arthur sighed, "Fine."

"Oh no you two get the bed. You and the next two kids who fly up here. That's why I said come to bed. First kids up here get the bed. You're first, but four kids can fit in that bed. Hmm, I wonder who's next?" Laura raised an eyebrow with a smile and looked downstairs.

A few footsteps sounded from the stairs. Arthur gulped. He _really_ didn't want to sleep with anyone he felt uncomfortable with.  
>Thankfully, it was Matthew and Yao. They both yawned with exhaustion. "Ai-ya. I'm so tired~aru."<p>

"Me too. Time for bed, eh?" Matthew yawned.

"Yes, and you two share the bed with these two," Laura smiled to them, "the others lose!" she called down the stairs with a laugh.

"WHAT?! NO FAIR!" Gilbert dashed up the steps, panting. "Why can't I have the bed?!"

"You lost," Laura chuckled.  
>Gilbert let out a loud growl, but was stopped quickly by a thump on the head from Elizabeth. "Listen to them. Don't disobey and yell like that." She growled.<p>

"Yes mam," Gilbert sighed and rubbed his head.

Eventually everyone came up, and Laura and Yeka set up blankets and pillows on the floor. Everyone made themselves comfortable in their spots, especially Arthur, who luckily, had the bed. _This bed is so much more comfortable then the bed we had at the orphanage._ He thought, _I never thought sleep could be _this_ comfortable._

"Mei Mei-san, would you like to sleep next to me?" Kiku asked the Taiwanese girl sheepishly.  
>She smiled, "Ok."<br>Yong Soo growled loudly at the Japanese child, who in return shivered. Arthur thought Mei Mei would return a counter to him in English, but no. She turned to Yong Soo and yelled something to him in Taiwanese again, making the Korean child flinch.

"Fine," he mumbled, "make out with him for all I care."

That made her so pissed she ran up to him and pulled on his curl hard. Harder then ever before. He squealed loudly, shedding a few tears. Half the kids laughed, including Arthur.

"Ok, Ok I'm sorry just stop embarrassing me!" Yong Soo howled. She let go and turned to Kiku with a smile. Yong Soo stood up, rubbing his head. He lay back down onto his spot on the floor and whimpered. Was he sad?

"Hey hey Elizabeth. The awesome one wants to sleep next to you." Gilbert smirked.

"Too late. Rodrich beat you to it."

"Oh really? Very well." He shrugged and walked back to his spot he shared with Ludwig.

Arthur could tell from the look on Elizabeth's face, she really wanted to sleep with him.  
>Was she falling for him?<p>

Arthur smiled. It was cute.

He lay himself down in the bed, staring at the wooden ceiling. It was so different from the ceiling in the orphanage. He felt himself get tired and finally gave in to his sleep.

**Author's note!**

**Again everyone I'm SO SORRY about me getting Hong Kong's name wrong. I have fixed that :D**

**Also, happy birthday to me! I'm sixteen and still ready to take on the world! XD**

**I hope you all liked this chapter now that the children have a home. But don't worry it's far from over. I also just **_**had**_** to upload a chapter on my birthday I had to XD**

**See you in the next chapter! :3**

**Tails**


	19. Wonders of the farmPart 1

Chapter 19

Arthur stepped down the creaky old stairs to the kitchen. The sweet aroma of breakfast ended up floating upstairs, waking him up. Surprisingly, it only woke him up. He yawned as he reached the bottom step. He turned to the kitchen and rubbed his eyes. Yekaterina was standing at the stove cooking something. It smelled good.

"Good morning Mum," he yawned.

"Oh, good morning Arthur!" she exclaimed happily, "did you sleep well?"

"Yes. What are you making?"

"Pancakes."

"PANCAKES?!" Arthur and his new adopted mother shook when a hungry Matthew flew down the stairs. "_Pancakes?_"

"Um, yes dear!" she smiled nervously, "what's wrong?"

"I-I always wanted to try them! I used to see woman at the orphanage eat them when they'd come into work in the morning, and they smelled so good and looked so good I wanted them-"

"Enough Matthew. Your blabbering is going to kill her." Arthur warned.

"Oh yes! Sorry aboot that." He sighed.

"It's ok love!" she smiled, "come sit. They're almost ready."

Matthew dashed to a seat and readied himself. It scared Arthur a little.

"Arthur, call everyone down here will you?" she asked.

_Oh god._ _H_ehad to? _Ugh._ "Yes 'mam."

He walked to the stairs and readied himself to be trampled, "Breakfast is ready!"

"BREAKFAST?!" Arthur yowled in fear and ducked himself to the floor when the group of gluttons raced past him. He looked to the table and already there sat Alfred, Gilbert and Yao. More running cued Lovino, Antonio and Feliciano. Everyone else walked down.

They sat at the table eating they're pancakes. They tasted wonderful. Matthew and Gilbert seemed to think so.

"Ah, Yeka, it's so early." A tired Laura walked in. _AH! _Her hair was a mess! Then again so was Elizabeth's.

Natalya walked in too. They also began to eat. Everyone finished and sighed. Now that their stomachs were full, they had to find something to do. But what?

"Hana!" Arthur turned to an excited Tino jumping down from his seat and begin to pet the little white dog. He was followed by Berwald.

"Pochi-kun!" Kiku jumped to the other dog and stroked it's fur, making it bark with happiness.

Arthur smiled. He looked to the window and warm rays of sun dripped through. It actually felt kind of warm in here. The snow had melted?

OH MY GOD. SPRING FINALLY CAME.

"Finally!" Everyone flinched when Arthur jumped off his seat and ran outside, feeling the warm rays of the sun hit him. He sat himself on the front steps and smiled. Spring felt so nice!

"Ahh, yeah. Our first time outside in spring. It feels….AWESOME!" he flinched when Gilbert ran past him and run to the grass that covered the ground around the house. He lay himself down in it and laughed. Arthur was tempted to join him, so he did. Everyone eventually came outside and joined them, laughing. Yekaterina, Laura and Natalya watched, smiling.

"Yeka, it's so nice right?" Laura smiled.

"Yes! These children must've suffered so much…." She ended sadly.

"Well, they have a home now. They'll be fine," Natalya added.

They were right. Never had they seen children so happy.

….

Yekaterina sat at the front steps with a coffee cup in her hand. Some children had gone back inside to watch TV, but Arthur and a few others remained outside. Why did they go inside? Didn't they want to feel spring? Then again, they had played for an _hour_ already. Guess they were tired.

"Fetch!" Tino threw at stick, making Hanatamago run after it. The dog retrieved the stick and ran back to them, who in reward barked happily when Tino pet him saying, "Good boy! Good boy!"

Arthur sat himself up from the soft grass and turned around. He flinched when he saw a stick in Gilbert's hand hit Mathias on the head, making him shout a fake yowl of pain as he dramatically landed to the floor. "Ahh! You've hurt me!" he pretended to cry.

"Ha ha! That shows you! Bow to The Black And White Knight Of The Dark Night! Kesesese!"

What was this? A game? And what was up with that super long name? Oh well. Arthur smiled, wanting to get involved. "Can I play?" he asked.

"Sure! Be on my side!" Gilbert said.

"No! My side!" Mathias shouted.

Arthur smiled at Mathias, "I don't know. Your side seems to be losing."

"Give me a minute to gather my strength! I'll take him down!"

"_I'll?_ You should've said _we_, meaning us. I guess I'm on Gilbert's side." Arthur padded over to his Prussian friend, who laughed in response.

"No fair!" Mathias pouted, "Luky! LUKY! Come back me up here!"

"Hell no." Lukas remarked.

"HEY!"

In a matter of minutes the kids were battling each other with sticks.

…meanwhile…

"Mama, do you grow anything else besides corn?"

"Of course Antonio!" Yekaterina smiled.

"Like what?"

"Well, strawberries, carrots, oranges, tomatoes-"

"TOMATOES?!"

"EEK!"

"Please show me!" he begged. He gave her his puppy eyes, and under his breath he muttered, "Come on, you can't resist the charm of a Spaniard!"

She sighed, realizing she was defeated, "Ok. I'll show you." She stood up, the Spanish child hard on her heels. They walked passed the cornfield, past every other field there actually, until they stopped at rows of red fruits.

"There they are!" she exclaimed happily. She pointed to the patch of red fruits, and flinched when she saw the extremely happy expression of the child's face. "Can we eat them?" he asked.

"No, they need to be washed first. Luckily, some are ripe. Wanna help me pick them?"

"Yes please!"

They turned to the sound of footsteps behind them, "Hey! What's going on?" two figures stepped out from behind the bushes.

"Hey Alfred! LOVINO! Look at all these tomatoes!" Antonio turned and pointed to the vast crop of never-ending fruits.

"Oh my god. That's..actually pretty cool" he muttered. "I want one."

"Soon. We have to pick them first. Come on, I'll show you." Yekaterina padded up to a bush full of ripe tomatoes and began to give her own little tutorial on how to pick them. Everyone seemed to be enjoying except for Alfred. He just looked around, clueless as usual.

"What's wrong Alfred?" Yekaterina asked.

He shrugged, "I'm bored. I'm hungry. I'm thirsty. I-"

"My god shut up your complaining is giving me a headache you bastard!" Lovino shouted, grasping his head.

"You shut up! I don't need this! A hero can find his own things to do!"

"FINE THEN! SCRAM!"

Alfred shivered with fear. Lovino sighed angrily when he realized the kid began to cry.

"Alright, alright stop fighting you two," Yekaterina smiled, "Alfred, come help us. Maybe you'll feel better."

"Nah. I'm gonna go find Artie."

"Ok then. Have fun!"

The child scrambled away to find his British friend.

….

"AND TAKE THAT! HUAHHHH!" Arthur hit Mathias on the head powerfully with a stick, making the Danish kid tumble back onto the ground making pretend-to-be-dying sounds. He stayed motionless, yet kicked his leg a few times like a dead rat. Was he overdoing it?

"HAH! You're defeated! BOW THE BLACK AND WHITE KNIGHT OF THE DARK NIGHT!"

"AND KING ARTHUR!"

Mathias flicked his leg again.

_Oh my god._

"Fine, you win. Hey Luky! Count the score!"

"_What _score? I've been collecting herbs, not paying attention to you animals."

"UGH!"

"Besides, this kind of game _has_ no score. Dumbass."

"HEY!"

"Kesesesesese! We win!" Gilbert cheered. He and Arthur shared a high five. Arthur sighed with a smile. "Round two?"

"VERY WELL." Mathias smirked getting up. The three began to pick up their sticks and get ready to fight again. Arthur pulled back his stick-

"Hey guys!"

They turned around to see Alfred by the house waving. Arthur smiled, "Hey!"

"Can I play with you guys?!"

"Sur-!" Arthur felt a hand place over his mouth, cutting him off.  
>"No thanks! We're good!" Gilbert shouted back.<p>

Alfred tilted his head confusingly, "How come?"

"Well….Arthur has me on his team….aaannddd Mathias fights alone. _Right_ Mathias?"

"Uh, I guess. I like fighting alone actually! Let's me prove how strong I am!"

"Ha ha that's great."

"SHUT UP LUKY!"

Arthur tilted his head. What was wrong? "Uh, he can play Gilbert. Another member to the team?"

"But Arthur! I'm having fun with it just being three people. It's easier to beat Mathias." Gilbert pleaded.

"HEY!" Mathias shouted, making Lukas laugh.

"Oh. Alfred maybe later!" Arthur yowled, "I promise!"

"Oh….ok." he looked down sadly. He walked back to the house. Arthur felt bad. "I promise!"

"Hey Alfred! What's wrong?" Feliciano plopped himself on the staircase next to the American child. The poor boy sighed.

"I don't know. They won't let me play until they win this battle."

"Ugh! You don't need to play that! It's dangerous and I don't have a white flag for you to borrow."

"Uhh.."

"Anywho, why don't we go see the strawberries? Yong Soo, Yao and the others just got back from picking a few!" Feliciano dashed into the house.

"Where are you going?" Alfred called, "The crops are this way!"

"What? No! They already picked som-Alfred wait!" Feliciano cried. Too late. The child already dashed away through the field giving his usual laugh.

"Alfred wait!"

"NAHAHAHAHA!"

"Get back here! I-I d-don't run that-fast…." Feliciano panted while in mid-run. Damn this child was fast! Feli kept chasing and panting until he reached the strawberries. He panted widely.  
>"AH MAN. I-I'M ALREADY TIRED. Alfred, where are you?"<p>

"Nahahahaha….." quiet laughing came from within the crop.

"Alfred I'm serious! I don't wanna go in there! There could be animals in there!...OH NO! What if you get hurt?! I'm coming!" Feliciano bravely threw himself into the crop. He began to run around widely through the vast bushes. How far did they go? It seemed like they went forever.

He stopped to breath a moment. "A-Alfred! I swear! I'll tell on you!"

"Hahahahahaha."

"I'M SERIOUS!"

Feliciano stopped to the sound of bushes rustling. "OH MY GOD AN ANIMAL!" He drew his white flag from his pocket and began to wave it violently. Huh? There was nothing. Bravely, he stepped closer and pushed the bushes out of his way.

"Alfred! There you are! You terrified me I thought you were gonna die!"

"HAH! That's funny dude."

"…..what's all over your face?"

"NOTHING!"

"Is that BLOOD?!"

"…YES! Yes it's blood! Go get help quickly!"

"Ok! I'll go right-wait a minute….." Feliciano stepped closer, "Blood doesn't smell like juice! You ate strawberries!"

"I DID NOT!"

"Don't act so cocky like Gilbert! I smell your lie!"

"You can smell a lie?" Alfred's blue eyes widened.

"No you moron! You're lying! You're not supposed to eat them until their washed. I'm telling!" Feliciano made his way back to the house.

"NO!" Alfred ran to catch him. Wow! Feli can really run fast when it's something important.  
>He had to catch up or he'd be in trouble!<br>He finally made it to the house. NO. Feliciano had already made it inside.

"LAURA!"

"YOU SNITCH!"

"Yes, Feli, what is it?" Her soft eyes rested with his, and Feli began to whine a little, "Al ate strawberries without permission!"

"Without washing them? Gross~aru." Yao snorted from the table. At the table, Yao, Yong Soo, Kiku and Mei Mei were eating _clean_ strawberries. The ones they picked.

"Oh he didn't know!" Laura jumped, "It's ok. It was just an acc-"

"*Sniff!* I'm sorry mom, *sniff*"

Laura turned to the door. The poor American child was standing there with tears dripping down his face, and his cheeks were red with embarrassment, "I'm sorry!"

"Oh love, don't cry!" She ran to him and wiped his tears away, "It's ok! You didn't know."

"I'm not in trouble?" he sniffed.

"Of course not! It was an accident. Now wash the juice off your face and come eat some fresh strawberries with us." She smiled.

"Ok!" he smiled running to the sink. He washed his face and sat with the others and they began to munch on the fresh fruit.

"Ve~ I'm sorry Alfred. I was just scared…."

"It's ok! Come sit next to me!"

"Ok!"

Feli leapt up to the chair and began to munch on the strawberries with them.

…meanwhile…

"Mutti, what's this?" Rodrich placed his hand on a tall seat. It was in front of a big….desk-looking thing. He had no idea what it was.

"It's a piano," Natalya answered.

"Oh." Rodrich sat himself on the chair and began to tap the keys. He flinched from the sudden tune they played. "Oh! They make noise!"

"Yes. If you learn to play one, you can make beautiful music." She turned away and began to clean a vase.

"Music…." Rodrich looked at the keys and began tapping a few. He smiled at the music he was creating. He wanted to learn to play the piano!

…meanwhile…

"We're back!" Yekaterina returned with the two others, carrying a big basket of tomatoes.

"Yeah! We picked so many! Right, Lovi?"

"Yeah, whatever…."

Arthur turned. They did pick a lot.

"HAIYAA!" Arthur turned and felt a stick faceplant into his face. He fell to the ground and began to pretend to die.

"No Arthur! Don't die!" Gilbert yowled. Too late. Arthur went still, pretending to be dead.

"HAH! One less player on your team!" Mathias laughed. Gilbert returned a glare and snarled.

"Kids, come on! Lunch is ready!" Yekaterina called.

"Oh thank god I'm starving." Gilbert raced to the house. Arthur and Mathias padded slowly behind Lukas to the house.

….

"How was your first day around the farm kids?" Yekaterina asked.

"Fun!"

"AWESOME! But not as awesome as me."

"Good."

"Nice!"

Answers went here and there. Lunch ended quickly. Arthur jumped from his seat but was surprised when Rodrich raced past him to the piano. Arthur went up to him, "What is that thing?"

"A piano! I'm gonna learn to play it!" Rodrich cheered.

"I see. Have fun with that!" Arthur waved and ran back outside. He returned to his spot with Gilbert and Mathias. "Shall we continue?"

"We shall." Gilbert smirked. They got themselves ready for another battle-

"Can I play now?!" Alfred called.

"Ugh. N-"

"Sure Alfred!" Arthur called. The American child cheered and ran over to them happily.

"Arthur, ARE YOU CRAZY? This means Mathias has another team member! Plus he can't fight." Gilbert whispered into his ear. Arthur pulled back, annoyed that Gilbert was making fun of his friend. "You'd be surprised." He snarled back.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. He has super-human strength remember?"

"ALFRED BE ON OUR TEAM!"

Arthur narrowed his eyes to Gilbert. _Really?_ Did Gilbert really care about winning that much?

"But Mathias is outnumbered! That's no fair!" Alfred waved his hand at the Danish boy, who turned and smirked at them. "Yeah, that's _unfair._" He snorted.

"Oh my god you're annoying me so much right now." Gilbert growled. "Fine! Arthur, attack!"

"Alfred, attack!"

Gilbert threw himself at Mathias and Arthur and Alfred tussled with sticks. This was an amazing game!

"STALEMATE!" Mathias cried. Fifteen minutes into battle and Mathias' team had already won. Gilbert and Arthur panted on the ground, out of breath.

"I want water. Take a break?" Gilbert panted.

"Sure." Mathias agreed. "Come on Alfred."

"RISE, FAIR ARTHUR! WATER AWAITS!"

"Alright alright I'm coming!" Arthur mumbled.

"Water!" Alfred cheered running to the house. Mathias was right behind him, and Arthur and Gilbert walked slowly back. "Ugh, I'm exhausted," Arthur sighed, "I can't wait for water."

"RACE YOU BACK THEN!" Gilbert challenged. He already dashed to the house, leaving Arthur in the dust.

"HEY!"

"KESESEESE!"

"Ugh!" Arthur dashed after him. Surprisingly, he was smiling. Their new home was fantastic, and he was so glad it was theirs.

**Author's note!**

**The Black And White Knight Of The Dark Knight is the actual name Prussia used in the Hetalia drama CD: Hetalia Fantasia. I thought I'd use that here XD**

**Sorry it's taken me so long to update. Midterms and such T_T**

**Well, I hope enjoyed this chapter. I thought it was cute :3**

**See you in the next chapter! :3**

**Tails**


	20. Wonders of the farmPart 2

Chapter 20

"Tired…." Feli yawned. "I'm going to bed."

"Si, I agree," Antonio yawned, "I'm tired."

It was already twelve o'clock at night. All day they had played outside, and Arthur was already tired. His body hurt from the game he and his friends were playing; his body felt as stiff as a freakin' stick.

Arthur entered their bedroom. Dammit! The bed was already taken by Feliciano, Antonio, Lovino and Rodrich. Ugh, guess he had to sleep on the floor tonight. What the hell? The others didn't seem to mind.

"Artie, let's sleep by the window. I want moonlight."

"Ok." Arthur moved blankets and pillows to the window for him and Alfred, and he plopped down to sleep. The moonlight filled the room with interesting shadows, and here and there he saw Gilbert make shadow puppets. The room was a little chilly, but the blankets made up for that.

"Hey Elizabeth, since Rodrich's sleeping in the bed, how 'bout you sleep with me?" Gilbert smirked to the Hungarian girl. He flinched when she turned to him slowly, her gaze didn't look promising.

"Ah! Sorry, you can sleep on your own if you want!" Gilbert yowled.

"Sure. I'll sleep with you." She answered. Gilbert's eyes widened with disbelief. Arthur looked around. Oh good, he wasn't the only one who had wide eyes and was freaked out by this. _She_ wanted to sleep with _him_? What was this madness?! Then again it is a full moon.

"R-really?" Gilbert shivered. "You're serious?"

"Yes dammit! And what are you all looking at?!" she howled to everyone. Arthur and the others turned away whistling.

Gilbert smiled, "Ok! Move over then." He layed himself down next to her and laughed. Arthur looked at Liz. Was she smiling?

"Goodnight everyone!" Laura called, switching off the light.

"Goodnight!" They called back. The door closed and the only light that could be seen was the moonlight. Arthur layed himself down and yawned. He snuggled himself in the blanket until he felt shivering next to him.

"Alfred stop shivering. I'm trying to sleep."

"I can't! It's scary in the dark! Count sheep for me!"

"What?! You said you wanted moonlight, so here we are! You shouldn't be scared!"

"I-I.." he sniffed. Arthur sighed, "What do you want me to do? I can't do anything."

Before Alfred could reply, someone else rose to speak:

"Kesesesese. Wanna tell ghost stories?"

"Yes!"

"NO!" Alfred howled, "No way! It's too scary!"

"Oh Alfred man up," Arthur laughed, "Their just stories."

"Shut up!" He cried.

"Ok, ok! I've got a good one!" Gilbert exclaimed, "Gather 'round children, come gather around awesome one."

Everyone gathered around Gilbert. Arthur joined the small circle while Alfred remained under his blankets shivering.

"This is the story of the headless man, who wonders through a mansion nearby, searching for the man who beheaded him" Gilbert snarled, trying to sound scary.

Alfred gulped.

"Now, here's the story. It was late at night. Two teenage boys were walking down a long, quiet road, trying to get home after a party. The immediately stopped when they saw and old house, which they heard was abandoned. It didn't seem abandoned, because there was a light flickering in the window. They shrugged and decided to go see if anyone _really_ lived there. Am I scaring you yet Alfred?"

"Shut up!"

"Kesesese! Ok on with the story. The boys walked up to the house and suddenly, the door just opened for them. Just like that. No one opened it, no one stood there. They did feel a cold blast of wind when it opened though, like a ghost!"

Alfred whimpered.

"They walked into the house, their curiosity peaked. They walked through the hall, when they heard a sudden slam. They turned and the door had shut behind them. In full on panic, the boys ran to the door and began banging on it, screaming 'Help us! Help us!' but no one heard them. They froze when they heard footsteps approach them. They gulped and slowly turned when they realized what they were looking at. A man without a head. They screamed louder then any banshee could, and they barely felt their heads fly off their own bodies. The headless man had chopped their heads off, thinking they were the men that had beheaded him. He was wrong. The boy's blood dripped from the windows and walls, and the headless man gave out a laugh, and he walked back into the depths of his house. The boy's, who had only minutes ago been alive, were now dead; their bodies beheaded as they lay on the floor, their blood making a large pool on the floor. No one ever found their bodies, 'cause no one ever _dared_ enter that house; in fear of the headless man. Be careful walking down that road guys. You never know if you'll be his next victim….BOO!" Gilbert jumped in front of Alfred and screamed.

"EEEKKKKK!" Alfred hid himself under the blankets, shivering with tears of fear pouring from his eyes.

Everyone was laughing. Arthur couldn't control himself.

"Shut up!" Alfred whined.

"KESESESESE! You should see the look on your face, baby!" Gilbert made everyone laugh harder, and Alfred sniffed.

"Ok, that's enough. I think it's time for bed." Arthur yawned.

"What? No! I have another one!" Gilbert shouted.

"No. Bedtime. It's past twelve." Arthur said. A few murmurs of agreement rose from their small crowd. Everyone climbed into bed and rested themselves down.

"Alfred, quit shivering!"

"I can't help it! I'm scared…."

"Don't be scared," Arthur sighed, "there's nothing here that can hurt you. Now go to sleep."

"..Ok.."

Arthur sighed as the boy finally calmed down. He looked at the window. The moonlight _did_ look beautiful. He smiled and let his sleep overwhelm him.

….

"ALFRED YOU WET THE BED?!"

"I'm sorry! It was an accident! I was scared, and I had a nightmare, and-"

"No it's gross! Ugh, your piss is on my legs. I'm gonna go take a bath." Arthur snarled. He walked out of the room angrily, and he slammed the bathroom door.

Alfred sniffed. It wasn't his fault! It was Gilbert's fault! _He_ scared him!

Alfred sighed and walked downstairs, placing himself on the bottom step. What now?

"Ve~!"

He dashed outside when he heard Feli's cry of happiness. He saw Feli and Antonio chasing some sort of bug. He ran to them, wanting to get involved.

"What's that?"

"A butterfly!" Feli cried, "Check this out! It lands on your finger if you're still and quiet enough! Watch!" Feli stood still as a statue and sure enough, the beautiful insect landed on his finger. "It tickles!" he said softly.

"Oh! Could I try?" Alfred waved his arms.

"Ok. Be careful though." Feli moved his finger slowly to Alfred. "Put your finger ou-"

"I'll take him!" Alfred smiled….Feli gasped when Alfred tapped it's wings. The butterfly stuttered away, struggling to fly. It slowly made it's way to the ground, it's legs trembling.

"Oh no!" Antonio ran to it.

"Why'd you do that?!" Feli cried.

"I-I didn't know! I'm sorr-"

Feli didn't care. He already ran to the butterfly. Butterflies die when you touch their wings, which Alfred didn't know. The poor thing was twitching it's wings violently, trying to fly. It took it a few minutes to finally give up and rest it's wings down, excepting it's fate.

"You killed it!" Feli cried, "You _actually_ killed it!"

"I'm sorry!"

"Feli, calm down. It was an accident." Antonio tried to ease Feliciano's temper, (who barely ever had a temper at all).

"Fine, it was an accident. I just can't believe it's dead." And with that last angry remark Feliciano stormed to the house, which scared the other two since they've never seen him mad before.

"Wow. Feli mad? You really got him there, heh heh." Antonio giggled.

"I-I"

"Oh don't worry, Alfred. He'll come around soon enough. I mean it's Feli, so how long can he stay mad at an _accident_?"

"Y-Yeah, right." Alfred whimpered. He didn't like people being mad at him.

"Well, I'm gonna go see what Gilbert and Francis are doing. See you later!" Antonio ran to the other side of the farm searching for his friends. Alfred stood there alone. Alone….

….

"So, the point of the game is to _not_ get hit with a ball. Is that _clear_ Anotnio?"

"Si!" Antonio had gone to find his friends and found them throwing a ball at each other. He didn't know what this game was until he asked. Apparently it's some kind of game where you throw a ball at someone and their out from running? Well, Gilbert made up the game, so of course it sounds ridiculous.

"Ok, I'll let you all run away while I count to ten," Gilbert began, "Ok….GO!"

The other two ran away quickly, trying to find places to hide. Antonio looked into the cornfield and smiled. That's it! He threw himself in and ran through it, pushing away cornstalks to make his way into the middle of the field, where Gilbert can't find him.  
>He placed himself down into the middle of the field and giggled. <em>You'll never find me!<em> He thought triumphantly.

It had been at least twenty minutes. Where were they? Had they given up on him?

Antonio felt fear rise in his chest. No one was calling him. He just sat in the cornfield with cornstalks swaying in the slight breeze.

Panicked, he jumped up and began to race back to where he began. Obviously his friends couldn't find him. He didn't need to worry, he just needed to run back this way….right?

It must've been ten minutes. He was running around aimlessly in the large field of never-ending corn, trying to find his friends. Tears of fear fell from his eyes. He was lost.

"Help!"

Gilbert looked up into the cornfield. "Did you hear that?"

"Wi. It sounds like Toni."

"Help!"

"It is! Come on, I think he's in trouble!"

"Wait! What if we get lost?"

"Ok, you stay here, I'll go look for him. Get Mutti if we don't come back in at least fifteen minutes. See ya!"

Before the French child could reply, the Prussian child had run into the field laughing.

"Kesesesesse! Hey Toni! Where are you?"

"O-over here! Please help me!"

Gilbert ran to the middle of the field and there sat his trembling friend.

"Pfft! What happened to you?!"

"I got lost! I was scared when you guys didn't come for me so I started to walk around the field on my own but couldn't find my way back! I was scared! I STILL AM!"

"Ok, ok! Calm down! Come on, let's go." Gilbert took his friend's hand and began running to the left, then the right. Then in a circle, then back to the left. It was this way!...right?

"HELP!"

"Ugh. Momon! Gilbert and Toni are lost in the cornfield!"

"Oh no!" Yekaterina cried. "Boys, can you hear me?!"

"Yes!"

"Follow my voice! When my voice gets louder you know your almost there!"

"Ok!" Gilbert pulled his friend through the cornstalks and they did what they were told. Eventually, they made it back to their mother, who was surprised to see them sobbing.

"I THOUGHT WE WERE GONNA DIE!" Gilbert howled.

"I agree! I was scared!" Antonio cried.

"It's ok, loves! I'm here. Let's go back to the house now." Yekaterina smiled.

"O-ok…." They sniffed. They smiled happily to the thought of the house.

"Pfft, babies." Francis smirked.

"SHUT UP!" They yowled.

….

Arthur finally finished his bath. It felt so good to be clean of Alfred's piss. Yawning, he made his way downstairs. Something smelled good.

When he reached the kitchen he saw Laura cooking something. She didn't seem too pleased about it.

"What are you making Mum?" He asked.

"Oh Arthur!" she whipped around and sighed, "Something my friend told me to make. She said to try making scones but their terrible. No taste at all."

_Scones?_ "Could I try one?"

"Sure. But I warn you, they taste like _nothing._" She laughed and handed him one. He eyed it for a second, then took a bite. His green eyes widened. They didn't taste bad at all! He continued to eat the…._bread thing_. She said they had no taste? Fooey! They had taste.

"You _like_ them?" Laura snorted, "Eh, must be an enquired taste." She shrugged and returned to her cooking, "Here, I only made five. You can have them."

"Thanks!" he cried. He took the plate which held the scones and walked into the living room. He noticed Yao on the couch, yawning and lazing about.

"What are you watching?" he asked. Yao didn't even turn around when he answered, "The twilight zone."

"_Again?_ Man you really like that show huh?"

"Yep. So does Wang~aru."

Apparently Kiku did too. All of them were just watching the black and white TV show, not moving. Arthur didn't know if it was creepy or just plain sad.

*bang bang! _Whirrrr!_*

Arthur jumped to the sudden sound. What was that? He walked into the other room, which showed Rodrich once again sitting at the piano, tapping keys. He was really serious about this piano thing!

"Having fun?" Arthur smiled.

"Yeah! It's awesome….what are you eating?"

"Scones. Want one?"

"No, Laura let me have one before. It tasted awful."

What the hell? Was he the only one who liked these things? He shrugged and walked back into the other room. He flinched when he saw Ludwig sitting on the floor reading a book. How come he didn't notice him before? Feliciano was sitting next to him….pouting? When did Feli ever _pout?_ Unless someone stole his pasta, there's no reason why he should be angry….right? It's weird! He's never angry!

Arthur padded to them, munching on a scone, "Hey."

"Hey."

"What's up?"

"Reading. The _one_ thing those idiots at the orphanage decided to teach us besides how to count." Ludwig snarled.

Arthur chuckled. He was right. He turned to Feli, who still had an angry expression. "Feli, what's wrong?"

"Nothing!"

Arthur jumped back when the kid yelled at him sternly. What the hell?! What made Feli so mad that he actually _yelled_?

"Don't ask. I've been trying to get it out of him since he got here. He won't tell anyone why he's mad." Ludwig sighed.

Arthur shrugged. "Come one Feli, you can tell me."

"You know what, since you're a good friend of his, fine! Alfred killed a butterfly! He killed the butterfly I was playing with!"

Oh boy. OH BOY. Arthur sighed. He no longer wanted to get involved. "I'm sure it was just an acci-"

"That's the same thing Antonio said! I know it was an accident but I didn't want to see it die!" he cried, tears beginning to fall down his face, "It made me sad."

Ludwig wiped his tears away, "Enough. It was an accident. Now, I don't think you should be so mad. Butterflies don't live very long anyway. Only two weeks I think; maybe less."

"VE~!"

_Oh Feli._ "Where's Alfred?" Arthur asked.

"Outside probably. Butterfly murderer." Feliciano pouted. He squeaked when Ludwig nudged him in the side and glared at him with angry blue eyes.

"ENOUGH. DON'T BE A BABY." He snarled a warning.

"Ve~! Ok, Ok! I'm sorry!" Feli cried.

*_Sigh_* "I'll see you guys later." Arthur said, putting down the scones. He padded to the door.

"Good luck." He heard Ludwig call behind him. Arthur sighed. Dealing with Alfred, he'll need all the luck he can get.

Eventually he found his friend weeping at the end of the farm, by the trees that lead into the forest. He padded up to him and sighed, "Alfred, what's wrong?"

Why did he ask that? He already knew why.

"I-I, I killed a butterfly! I didn't mean to it was an accident!" He cried. Arthur sighed. He wished he had someone here to help him.

"A-and Feli yelled at me! I said I was sorry but he kept yelling at me! I don't want anyone to hate me! It was an accident!" he wailed.

_Ughh_. Arthur knew it was an accident, but it sometimes took a while to comfort Alfred. "Alfred look, let's go talk to Feli. Maybe you two can make up."

"No!"

"_Yes,_ come on." He pulled his friend up, "No more crying. Does a hero cry like this?"

Alfred sniffed, "No.."

"Alright then. Let's go." He lead him back to the house.

Back at the house, Arthur pulled Alfred into the living room, who in return squealed and jumped behind his back. Arthur sighed. He shouldn't be scared of Feli! _No one_ should! Feli was a crybaby and couldn't fight. He was clumsy too. He didn't even try to fight, which is why he always carried a white flag in his pocket.

"Feli, come here. Ludwig help me." He added.

The two got up and walked over to him, and Feli scowled at Alfred. Alfred shivered behind his back.

"Look, it was an accident. Alfred didn't know that would kill it, right Alfred?'

"Yes…."

"Ok. Feli, there are any more butterflies out there in this world to play with. Of course you miss the one you found, but don't worry. At least it didn't get eaten by a spider."

"I guess…."

"Good. Alfred, apologize." Arthur turned to him and nodded his head to Feli.

"Sorry, please don't hate me," he shivered.

Ludwig nudged Feli. "I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have overreacted." Feliciano mumbled softly.

"Friends?"

"Ve~! Friends!"

Arthur was surprised how easy they forgave each other. However, their nice little moment was interrupted by the front door opening, revealing their mother, a laughing Francis, and tearstricken Gilbert and Antonio.

"What happened to you guys?" Arthur's eyes widened.

"Yes bruder, _do tell_." Ludwig snarled. Apparently he figured it was his brother's fault.

"Oh no! It wasn't me this time! It was Antonio!"

"Hey! Well….yes." Antonio looked away.

"What happened then?" Ludwig asked.

"Ohonnon, long story!" Francis laughed. He explained everything, which in turn made the others laugh.

"NOT FUNNY!" Gilbert and Antonio howled. Gilbert flinched with a squeak when he felt a hand slap the back of his head. "Go clean yourself up. You're a mess." Elizabeth said sternly. She was right. He smelt like corn and grass.

After their bath Gilbert and Antonio ran up to Rodrich and pulled on his cowlick until Elizabeth showed up to save him. Surprisingly, she didn't hit Gilbert as hard as he thought she would. However Antonio got a good beating.

The rest of the day went normally. They hung out outside all day again. Arthur watched butterflies scurry over flowers.

"Ahh!" he turned to Alfred's wail, "it bit me!"

_What?!_

"What happened?" Yekaterina came outside, and Alfred ran up to her. "It bit me!"

"What did?"

"That black and yellow bug! It bit me! And it hurts!" he wailed.

"Do you mean a bee?"

"A what?"

Arthur sighed. Did he know _anything?_

"A bee," she continued, "They're small bugs who when feel threatened, sting you with their stingers, not bite. Did you annoy it in anyway?"

"Well, I grabbed it in my hand. That's where it bit-I mean stung me."

Arthur wanted to hit him on the head. Really?! Why would you grab a bee?

"Well, don't scare it next time then love. It won't sting you if you don't annoy it." Yekaterina rubbed his head but he did nothing but pout.  
>"Who cares! I hate those bugs anyway!"<p>

"Oh now love don't say that! Without bugs, all flowers would die, and pollen would run loose, making everyone sneeze!"

"HEEAAKCHOOYAAHEEY!"

As if to prove her point Gilbert sneezed. "Anyway love, we need bees to keep plants safe, and make honey."

"Oh. They're good then?"

"Yes. They help us very much."

"Oh. Ok!" Alfred cheered, his pain gone. He continued to run around and play. Arthur sighed. When will he ever learn?

….

Nighttime came, and luckily Arthur managed to snatch the bed for him, Alfred, Matthew and Kiku. When were they getting these new beds their mothers promised? Arthur shrugged. Oh well, he just had to be patient.

"Goodnight loves!" Yekaterina called, switching out the lights. Gilbert sat up and smiled.

"Kesesesese. Anymore ghost stories?"

"No not tonight," Arthur yawned, "I'm tired." _And Alfred might wet the bed again._

"Oh alright. Your loss! You're missing out on the awesome one's stories, kesesesese!"

Everyone agreed with Arthur anyway. They were all tired from their day around the farm. Wait why were Yao, Wang and Kiku tired?! All they did was watch TV! Oh well.

Arthur placed himself in bed and yawned.

Sleep awaits….

**Author's note!**

**Well I have a week's vacation so I'll try to update more. And thank you to all the people who said happy birthday! Anyway, I hope you all liked this chapter. **

**See you in the next chapter :3**

**Tails**


	21. Shopping

Chapter 21

"Wooaahh..ughhhh.." Arthur stood on top of the tree branch, shaking a little. Why? Fear of heights was Francis' thing! _I think I'm gonna be sick._

They were playing a game. A game where they were sailors at sea trying to catch some sort of monster called Kraken or whatever. It sounds stupid. That's only because it was Gilbert's idea.

Arthur was supposed to be in the "crow's nest," which was technically the tree branch, keeping an eye out for the Kraken; which of course, was played by Mathias.

Finally Arthur saw the Danish boy's spikey hair move around threw a few bushes away from them. Time to tell them all.

"Hey! I see it! It's in the bushes-I mean dodging through waves!"

"Use sailor talk!" Gilbert howled.

"Ugh. DAAARRRR SHE BLOWSSS!"

The other kids beneath him on the ground turned and yowled when Mathias jumped out of the bushes and pushed a few of them down.

Gilbert took out a stick and lashed it at Mathias, making Mathias jump back with pretend yowls of pain. "I got it!" Gilbert howled proudly. He turned when he heard a pretend shriek come from Elizabeth, as Mathias had turned towards her. Gilbert jumped in front of her and lashed the stick around, "I'll save you fair maiden!"

"Oh great." Elizabeth snorted.

Gilbert swung the stick around menacingly, making Mathias flinch and move back. Gilbert charged and poked the stick at Mathias' heart, sending him to the ground and "pretending" to die. Mathias eventually stopped moving and stayed still, kicking his foot a little like a dead rat like last time.

"We win!" Gilbert howled. He threw the stick down and fist pumped the air.

"Great," Elizabeth stood up and dusted herself off, "_Now_ can we go back to the house?"

"What for?" Gilbert smirked, "We're just getting started!"

"Yeah but I'm tired. I'm gonna go join Antonio with his siesta."

"Whatever," Gilbert shrugged. She turned and walked away. Gilbert turned to Mathias and smirked, "Ready to continue?"

"Nah, I'm good." Mathias yawned, "I'm gonna go get a snack."

"What?! Fine! Arthur, let's play knights!" He moved the stick to point at Arthur.

Arthur sighed and scrambled down the tree, walking over. "Sorry man. We've been playing this for an hour, and I'm tired. I've been up in a tree for a while now, and I'd like to feel the comforting touch of hard wooden floor instead of bark."

"Yeah, but-"

"Come with us. Let's get a snack."

"….Fine. You're lucky I'm hungry." He threw the stick down angrily and stormed back to the house. Arthur sighed, "Sorry. He's usually like this when he doesn't get what he wants."

"Eh, so am I." Mathias laughed. They made their way back to the house laughing.

Back the house they joined Yao and Kiku with the snacks. Arthur munched on a green apple.

"Hey Arthur, can you call everyone in here?" Yekaterina asked politely.

"Why Mum?" he tilted his head in confusion.

"Just do what I tell you," she said.

"Ok," he shrugged. He walked outside and called, "Hey! Mum wants to talk to us! Come inside immediately!"

He flinched and ran back inside when the overwhelming footsteps of Alfred, Feliciano, Lovino, and a few of the others dashed inside. Coming out of the living room were a tired Elizabeth and Antonio, followed by a cheerful Rodrich.

"Now, everyone's here." Yekaterina nodded, "Natalya! Laura! Come now!"

"Alright, alright!" Laura snarled stomping in. She had a beautiful sweater on and when Natalya came in, she also had a nice sweater on. "Nice sweaters," Arthur commented.

"Thank you dear," Laura smiled, "Anyway, do you know why you're all here?"

"Snacks!" Gilbert yowled, munching on his apple.

"No silly!" Yekaterina smiled, "We're going to go to the town and get you all beds. We're also going to get you some nice things. Maybe a new teddy bear for you Matthew?"

Matthew gripped his bear tightly, "No. Kumajiro is the only bear I'll ever love."

"Very well," she smiled, "Anyway, let's get going."  
>The kids cheered and got themselves ready. They dashed out the door and struggled at the car door. "It's locked!" Gilbert howled.<p>

"Oh shut up and wait." Elizabeth bopped him on the head, making him squeak. He glared at her and she gave a slight smirk.

"Yeka unlock the car dammit. I wanna get going." Laura grumbled, shaking the handle to the door.

"Alright, alright give me a minute." Yeka clicked the small button on the keychain and it made a small sound again. The car clicked too, and Arthur was still puzzled how it did this.

"We're going to get you some new clothes too." Yekaterina said stepping into the car.

"But I like my black cloak," Arthur gripped it tightly around him.

"You can keep it. But we're going to get you some newer clothes. The clothes you're wearing now must be washed. Therefore, new clothes are needed."

Arthur sighed then nodded. He followed everyone into the car, and the car made it's usual growling sound and pulled out of the driveway, heading for the street.

It was really sunny out today. Spring promised good weather apparently. The sun was bright and it annoyed the eyes a few times. The trees began to grow pretty flowers on their branches, which Kiku seemed to love.

"Ahh!" Kiku let out a very, very soft yowl, "a cockroach!"

Kiku was terrified of cockroaches. Arthur saw it crawling by the window Kiku was sitting next to and sighed. He would swing it away, but he couldn't reach.

"I got it!" Gilbert rolled down the window and flicked it out, making it fly behind the car.

"Kesesesese! Did you see that Kiku? It flew away!"

"Y-yeah, great." Kiku sat himself up and shivered a bit.

"We're almost there," Yekaterina announced.

She was right. Eventually the car drove into that nice town they had been once been in before. It was so old fashioned, which Arthur liked about it. It had nice small stores, small restaurants, and a small metal bridge beside a beautiful dock.

"Ice cream!" Alfred looked out the window and spotted and ice cream parlor, "can we get some?"

"Maybe later," Yekaterina smiled, "we're almost near that furniture store I told you about."

The car pulled up into a drive way for a big store. Yekaterina got out of the car with Natalya and closed the door. For some reason she locked the doors after Laura got out.

Arthur shook the handle, "What's going on?" he asked nervously.

Laura smiled, getting back into the car. "They're going to buy the beds. _I'm_ going to take you guys some place fun."

The kids smiled. "Where? Where?!" Gilbert and Yao bounced in their seats.

"You'll see." She smirked. She pulled out of the parking lot and began to drive away. They eventually pulled up to another parking lot. This one was huge. They stepped out and Arthur looked around. "Where are we?"

"Were in a little shopping area. You can walk around outside and go into different stores. I'll take you guys into whatever store you want, but stick together ok?"

"Sure!" they howled. They began to walk to the little shopping area and looked around at different stores. "Hey look! Stuffed pandas~aru!" Yao ran to a window and stared in. Laura chuckled, "It's a toy store. You guys wanna go in?"

"YES." They answered, staring into the window. However, Arthur really wasn't concerned about those things.

"Ok. Come on let's go in."

The kids dashed in like a stampede of buffalo….except for Arthur. He was too busy eyeing a store a few feet away. It had an interesting star on the sign and it looked magical.

"Arthur, come on." Laura beckoned.

"What's that store over there Mum?" he pointed to it.

"Oh that? That's like a little store of magic. Magic spells, witchcraft stuff and junk. I don't think you should go in there. Come on let's go," she stepped inside the toy store.

"Yeah, yeah coming" he waved his hand. He smirked and of course didn't run inside, but decided to separate and go into the magic store. He dashed into the store and looked around.

IT WAS BEAUTIFUL.

He was always into magic. He walked around the quiet store and eyed everything. He looked at the small shelves that filled the room. Dragon statues, witch statues, cat and dog statues. The cat and dog statues looked like the cats and dogs you see in Ancient Egypt art. He looked up and saw that the store went down a little further, so he walked down. He approached a small running fountain. When he looked in, there were a few coins at the bottom. He smiled. _I wanna throw in a coin too!_ He though happily.

He searched the ground for a coin. Thankfully he saw a penny and snatched it up in his hand. He tossed into the fountain and smiled. This was fun!

He looked around. The back of this store was full of interesting things. On one shelf a few feet down it had lucky cat statues. He usually heard Kiku talking about those sometimes. When he turned to his right, there were interesting necklaces and pictures, he even saw chopsticks.

He decided to turn right and walk the other way. He jumped when he found the small end of the store. It had calligraphy books and instructions. Pen and ink, also a few brushes that looked like they came from China. Arthur eyed them with wide eyes. This store was amazing.

He turned to the big bookshelves. Arthur's eyes widened and he smiled when he saw a few books on witchcraft. He grabbed the biggest one and began to read.

It was fascinating. So many interesting spells and information. He put the book down and grabbed another. He flipped through a few pages and chuckled. It was amazing!

"_ARTHUR."_

He froze. He gulped and looked up to see Laura standing over him, and her face did not look promising. He had never seen Laura angry before, so of course he was scared.

"H-hey Mum," he gulped, "Where are the others?"

"Outside waiting for us. I'm very ashamed of you Arthur. You came in here when I said not too. On top of that, you came in here when we were all in another store, and I couldn't find you anywhere! Do you know how worried I was?!"

Arthur flinched nervously, and he looked down sadly. He was ashamed of himself for disobeying. "I'm sorry…." He murmured, "I'll put the books back."

"You better. When we get ice cream later you get none. That's your punishment today."

He nodded sadly. He put the books back on the shelves and followed her out of the store. He would miss this store. It had a nice incense smell to it. Probably because they sold incense.

Arthur walked outside to the others. He stopped beside Alfred and sighed.

"What's wrong Artie?" he asked.

"Nothing. I just got yelled at. Also I can't have ice cream when we get some."

"Oh. Sorry about that," Alfred said, "Don't worry! Maybe I'll share some of mine with you!"

"I don't think you should do that. She might yell at you too."

"Then I'll share it with you when she's not looking." He smiled.

Arthur smiled. He was so glad Alfred was his friend.

"Guess what guys? I just got off the phone with the others," she began, closing her phone, "They got the beds."

They all cheered.

"Let's go back then. We'll pick them up and get ice cream. Then we'll go home." She smiled.

They all walked back to the car and got in. Arthur looked out the window sadly. He would never know what ice cream tasted like.

After they picked up the others and got their insanely gigantic beds, they drove up to the small ice cream parlor. Alfred and Gilbert dashed inside while he others walked. In a few minutes everyone had ice cream. They all lapped at it happily. Arthur just watched.

"Here Artie. Take some of mine." Alfred put it near his face.

"No! She'll yell at you!" he countered.

"She's not looking!" Alfred whispered, "take a lick now!"

"Isn't it gross to share food?"

"Just do it!"

Arthur obeyed and licked. It was delicious. "What flavor is this?"

"Chocolate!" Alfred smiled and took another lick, "want more?"

"Yes please," he took another lick. They shared the frozen treat the rest of the time they were there.

"OH MY GOD THAT WAS AWESOME." Gilbert laughed.

While the others talked for a bit outside Arthur walked towards the small metal bridge and looked ahead. He _really_ wanted to go near the nice little dock that overlooked the river. It looked nice. He sighed. Laura probably wouldn't let him do anything after what he did.

"Come on let's go home. We'll get you new clothes tomorrow." Yekaterina called. They all jumped in the car and they began to drive home. Arthur looked out the window. He didn't want to leave yet. He wanted to stay in the nice town a little longer.

….

"HUUAAAH!" Gilbert hit Mathias softly on the head with his new wooden toy sword. Mathias jumped back, then reflected with his new toy sword.

A few of the kids had gotten new swords. Elizabeth had gotten one too. Right now the little sword gang were playing knights or something. Arthur just watched laughing.

"Hey Artie! Maybe we should get swords next time too!" Alfred nudged him in the side and smiled.

Arthur nodded, "Sure, why not?"

"Hey Waldo! Wanna play? You get a stick sadly. We have no other swords." Mathias called.

Berwald just glared at him _"No."_

"Alright fine. Guess you're scared." Mathias laughed.

And then Berwald came and smacked him with a stick. Yep.

He dropped the stick and walked away. Arthur swore he heard him laugh a little. Berwald? Laugh? How rare was that?

"Ah, fine! Dammit!" Lukas rubbed the spot on his head Berwald hit, "Hey Luky! Wanna pl-"

"NO." Lukas answered sternly, walking back into the house.

"_Fine_, party pooper." Mathis snarled. "Continue!" he dashed back into the fight with Elizabeth and Gilbert. Arthur and Alfred continued to watch, laughing.

….

After dinner Arthur walked into the living room and joined Yao on the couch. He and Wang were watching some sort of TV show. It wasn't The Twilight Zone again this time. Arthur sighed with relief. They watched that show too much! "Watcha watching?" he asked.

"We're watching a show about animals. Look! Wolves~aru!"

Arthur turned to the TV. He liked wolves. They were amazing and powerful. And they worked in a team.

He turned to his right when he heard Kiku walk in, "Hey Kiku."

"Hai?"

"You know that store I went into?"

"Hai?"

"Well, they sold lucky cat statues in there."

"Really?" his eyes widened, "We must go back there!"

"I agree." Arthur smiled. Kiku jumped and joined them on top of the couch, and they continued to watch the animal show.

….

"Time for bed!" Laura called.

"YES!" Gilbert howled, running upstairs. "Our own beds!"

Arthur approached the room lastly and saw everyone jumping on their beds.

"Ai-ya! Mine is bouncy~aru!" Yao cheered.

"My bed is awesome!" Gilbert howled, rolling around on his bed.

Arthur saw an empty bed and figured that must be his. He began to walk to it, but was stopped.

"Arthur, could I talk to you for a minute?"

Arthur gulped when he felt Laura's hand on his shoulder. He turned around slowly, "Y-yes?"

"Come with me," she lead him out of the room. Next thing he knew they were outside, sitting on the steps. "Arthur, look. The only reason I yelled at you today is because I was scared we lost you. Don't run off on your own, ok?"

Arthur nodded, "Yes Mum, I'm sorry."

"It's ok." She smiled and kissed his head. His eyes widened. The first kiss from a parent. He always wanted that.

"For the record I saw Alfred sharing his ice cream with you." She smirked.

Arthur gulped and turned to her, shaking nervously. "T-then why didn't you stop us?"

"I thought it was cute." She shrugged with a smile, "Alfred's a sweetie."

"Yeah. He's a good friend." Arthur smiled.

She nodded, "Come on. Let's go back inside. Time for bed." She lead him back upstairs. Back upstairs, he finally was able to jump into his bed and roll around. It was _so_ comfortable. He felt like crying. A comfortable bed, and it was all his!

"Goodnight everyone!" Laura shut the lights.

"Goodnight!" they called.

She closed the door, and the only light in the room was the moonlight. "Hey, hey Artie."

Arthur turned to his left and stared at Alfred, "Yes?"

"Look! Our beds are next to each other. Cool right?" he smiled.

"Yeah." Arthur smiled. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight Artie!" he cheered.

"Kesesesese. Anyone wanna tell ghost st-"

"NO!" they all yelled, "We're tired!"

"Ok, jeez!" Gilbert snarled, falling back into bed.

Arthur sighed, but smiled. He actually had a nice comfortable bed to sleep in, and it was all his. He yawned and drifted off to sleep.

**Author's note!**

**So many beds. So many beds for that one car to carry 0_0**

**Lol I hope you liked this chapter. I thought it was cute X3**

**See you in the next chapter :3**

**Tails**


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